The World Not Only God Knows
by xellos540
Summary: The Heart of the Jupiter saga has ended, everything is clear and all loose ends have been tied up... except they haven't. Follow Keima as he tries to return to his usual life, but finds himself more and more in touch with the real. Will he remain the only one who knows what happened or will he open his heart to the goddesses hosts?
1. Flag 01: Foreboding

**Hello everyone, I present you my first KamiNomi fanficion. This chapter contains _important_ (even if quite lengthy) author's notes. I cannot force you to read them, but I _strongly_ recommend you do it. We'll start with the most important things first.**

 **First, this fanfiction is based on manga instead of anime and contains _major_ spoilers. You've been warned. Spoilers alone, reading this story without knowledge of the manga is kind of pointless, because you won't know what is going on.**

 **Second, this story is very much intended for romance (or at least as much romance we can get with Keima being... well Keima), but the pairing will remain a mystery for now. I also recommend you to keep on reading no matter what pairing you support.**

 **Third, connected with the second, I have this strange quality of being thorough, even if it entails a lengthy explanation (as you can see here). In short: I need some specific things to happen in the story and they require a lot of words/chapters, at least if you want them to be logical (some plot holes are likely, though). Just be patient with me. Also I have a specific style of writing, so expect a lot of calm thinking/talking instead of things going too fast... That doesn't mean there won't be any action though :)**

 **Next, I have about 10 chapters already done and I will be posting them one per 2 or 3 days, but once I post all of them then the frequency of chapters will drop down, because I don't have that much time for writing. I hope it will be one chapter per week.**

 **The rating stays as T for now, but changes are possible.**

 **As for naming and language, I will probably use a lot of Japanese words, especially honorifics. I was tempted to use Japanese order of Surname and then Name, but I ultimately decided against it. I will also use Elsie/Elucia instead of other spellings, as well as Eri instead of Elly (even though the latter looks nice, I just didn't find any official prove for that spelling).**

 **The last thing: tell me what you think! Reviews, including constructive critique, are always welcome!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The World God Only Knows manga.**

 **Okay, onto the story!**

 **(* * *)**

The day was sunny and quite warm, something you would consider unusual for the middle of November, even in Maijima, Eastern Japan. Of course, most of the inhabitants were happy about this and didn't even think about complaining. But some weren't fond of that particular brightness, especially if they wished to hide from the view. This was exactly why the inferior of the building was mostly covered in darkness – only one room was illuminated by several light bulbs that would be considered fairly normal if it weren't for the dim green light they emitted...

And the fact that they seemed to float in the air, as if by magic.

The only person present in the room seemed undisturbed by any of this. Actually, not much could be said about this person, because of the the black cloak draped around the person's body. The only reliable information that could be concluded was the person's gender – if the black hair spilling out of the hood and the smooth delicate-looking skin were any indication.

The person was sitting on a plain chair next to a dirty window, head propped on hand, elbow on the windowsill. Her face was unmoving save for red eyes, gazing through the small gap in the curtains.

The human world. A blink. And the Far East too. A wry smile. It seemed both different and similar to how her home looked like... A barely audible sigh.

Or to how it had looked like before the war.

The person remained like that for a few more minutes until her eyes finally stopped observing the outside world and shot in the direction of the wooden door. It was completely quiet for a second or two and then muffled footsteps could be heard. And then there was knocking.

"Come in" the figure by the windowsill said in a language no-one usually heard in this part of the world.

Or any part of the world for that matter...

The door, looking even older than the rest of the room, opened slowly, its creaking the loudest sound made so far. Another figure entered the room, as the first one it was wearing a cloak of sorts, the person's facial features completely concealed by a hood. This new person seemed rather plain and inconspicuous, stark contrast to the woman by the window, who was of a much higher status – it was obvious even in that situation.

The figure closed the door and then walked to the other one, knelt on one knee and then spoke.

"Greetings milady" the kneeling person was a woman as well, but it would be hard to guess it by her voice alone, which was rather low and not the most pleasant. "I'm sorry for being late. I have arrived as soon as I could."

"I'm sure you have" the sitting woman answered, her voice on the other hand was melodious and gentle, yet with underlying timbre of steel – reminiscent of a beautiful yet frosty winter morning. "Actually, I'm glad you managed to escape arrest and trial."

"Concealment and secrecy is my forte, so it's to be expected" the kneeling person stood up. "It wasn't easy though. Nor quick."

"That's fine, concealment and secrecy is exactly why I expect from you now" the noble woman replied. "There is a task that needs to be done. It doesn't need to happen immediately, but once it happens it needs to be performed precisely and quickly. But before that I need you to recruit a few old devils."

"Recruit?"

"Yes. What we lack right now is manpower."

"With all due respect... replenishing our ranks after what happened is..."

"I'm not talking about any major or even minor replenishments. Forget about gathering an army or about recruiting some big names. We don't have time or need for those. What we need now are soldiers. Inconspicuous, reliable and loyal. And five would be enough, so you should be able to do it quickly."

"Five... that would mean there won't be even ten of us... What can we accomplish with such a number?"

"I have been wondering..." the person by the window said, as if ignoring the other one, her eyes already back to observing the outside world. "Why have we, a secret and powerful organization, failed? We had spies everywhere, people in the government, thousands of soldiers in Vintage. Yet we failed. Do you know why?"

The other person remained silent.

"We failed" the woman continued. "Because of some other organization."

"And that organization is?"

"I have no idea."

"I... beg your pardon?" the other person asked, clearly surprised. "How could there be an organization in New Hell as big as powerful as us that we don't know about?"

"Exactly, that is not possible" the woman answered. "There are only three possible explanations. That organization is not big. Or it's not from New Hell. Or both."

"Wait a moment..." for the first time a trace of disbelief could be heard in the other person's voice. "You're not suggesting that a handful of some pathetic humans managed to foil our plans, are you?"

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting" the woman retorted, her voice held a hint of impatience as well. "And I forbid you from calling them pathetic humans. That way of thinking is exactly what brought as here" the woman gestured to the old moldy room. "Until this is done we need to be on our guard."

The other person remained quiet, as if expecting the woman to continue.

And she was right.

"I still have trouble believing it myself. We were too proud, we were expecting our enemies to strike us openly. Thus we prepared ourselves accordingly. The Runaway Spirit Squad... the Public Safety Department... We were even prepared for the intervention from the Heavens... yet in the end it seems we were brought down by a group of beings that were so insignificant we didn't even notice them swarming beneath our feet... We cannot make this mistake again."

"I see..." the other person said and then paused for a moment. "Forgive me for asking... but what do we hope to accomplish with so few people? Is there any chance?"

"There is... Obviously our plans will be delayed and we will probably never grow to our former strength, but we will survive... and the first thing we need is information. That will be your second task as soon as you complete the first one."

"I'm listening."

"The truth is" the woman pulled out a set of files from underneath her cloak. "We actually do have a list of names and profiles of a number of humans, a few buddies among them. And several devils" she handed the files to her comrade. "I managed to obtain it from the database before our headquarters were raided.

"That's a little more than several people" the other person studied the files for a moment. "There are twenty or so... but" a lengthy pause. "But that doesn't make any sense. Do you truly believe those are the humans we need? Most of them are kids, even by human standards!" he was quiet for a moment. "Maybe that's just a part of them. Maybe there's more."

"That's why we need to know exactly what happened. What did they know and what did they do. I suspect some of them are unrelated anyway, but we can't take any chances."

"So you want me to interrogate them?"

"Not in person. Standard questioning methods might be pointless. We will need some proper equipment, but let me worry about that. What I want you to do is bring them to me in one piece, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"We will use their own tactic against them" the woman continued, gazing into the distance. "They think they have won. They will lower their guard. And we we will be the ones that'll move unnoticed beneath their feet... we'll approach from the angle they won't anticipate. We'll take them by surprise. We will learn their secret... how their operate... what connections do they have with the New Hell. And after we have understood everything, we will remove them from our path" the woman took off her hood, two prominent horns adorning her head, red eyes shinning in the dark. "I swear it on my name, the name of Roudret Ruhm Lentrant!"

 **(* * *)**

 **Thus, we start with a threatening secret conspiracy! I won't be keeping you in the dark for long, so I'll post the next chapter tomorrow. If you like it then drop me a review. See you next time!**


	2. Flag 02: Tea for two

**Hello! As promised here is the second actual chapter and Keima finally makes his appearance! I'll hope you'll enjoy it.**

 **(* * *)**

A week of searching for the goddesses. The Mai High Festival. Three days in the past. In short, it had been the most hectic and game-deprived two weeks of his life as far as Keima Katsuragi could remember. And his memory was top-notch. Well, during that time he had five days he could use for resting and playing, but that definitely wasn't enough. It wouldn't be enough even without all the guilt and wailing.

In other words he needed his games. Even with all the things that had happened the games were still the air he breathed. The ocean he swam in... And his hands twitched a little every time he thought about pulling out his PFP from his pocket and starting playing.

But, as he looked in front of him, he decided that it wasn't an option now. If he thought about it all, and he was trying not to, then it was becoming painfully obvious that there was not going back to his previous life either.

He did enter a specific route, even with the real putting spokes in his wheel, being it's usual uncooperative random cluster of illogical nonsense. Despite that he had seen the ending. The ending for everyone. It wasn't easy to get there, but he had seen it and reached for it. And that would be all.

In games...

In games ending was truly the end. The heroine and hero would realize their (hopefully happy) fate and then disappear as soon as the game was turned off, the player free to play another game. In games there was nothing beyond the ending.

The real, as usual, refused to comply with the will of the God of Conquest. The God has reached the ending... except nothing ended. His life hasn't disappeared, nor has it returned to the way it was before. He predicted it of course, but that didn't make things any better.

Deep down Keima knew he was changed forever and could only imagine how far he will continue to change in the future. Granted, the entire deal with the devils and goddesses had ended (more or less), but he still doubted he could forever stay the way he was now... No, he will get further involved with the world. The real would take care of that...

He had been trying to settle everything. Tie all the loose ends once and for all. But what had he really accomplished?

The goddesses hosts? He guessed that Yui hadn't given up on him and he wasn't sure that the others had given up either. And those that had will probably still pester him with questions, asking for the truth or just wanting to hang out. After all, he did write that he wanted to "continue walking" and that they were "his friends". And he did make a few promises, especially with Shiori. If he was lucky Tsukiyo would take offense and give him a cold shoulder for a while... and Kanon rarely came to school anyway.

And Tenri...

Keima hoped that she would be alright. He had told her that they will go their separate ways and even that was half-truth at best. They were neighbors for crying out loud! It's not like she could just move out with her family, especially since she had moved in next to him less than four months ago. It would probably be years before they truly separate and that still didn't mean she will let go. There wasn't much he could do about it either. He couldn't see the correct choices when it came to real life girls, so that was entirely up to Tenri. Least to say, she, and by extension Diana, was going to stay in his life for a while.

Actually the same went for Dokurō... Nikaidō... whatever. She had said she was going to quit teaching. Yeah, right. At the end of the school year maybe... she wasn't going to just disappear overnight and leave all of her students. She wasn't a bad teacher all things considered.

Even Elsie was still with him, not that he complained... much. Without all the runaway spirits she will be a considerable less annoying. And she was now his genuine sister, crashing into his life again, this time with a fully functional BMW. Why change the name though? For someone so simple-minded she really did some complicated things. Speaking of doing things... Keima wondered how much of the actual reality she changed? He remembered everything... but what about his mother? What about their classmates and 2-B pencils? What about Haqua, Nora and the rest of the New Hell? What about Elsie's older sister? What about Nikaidō? Elsie... Eri... his twin sister probably messed something up somewhere along the way... if his experiences with her were anything to go by.

Above everything else he needed information. In order to navigate any route one required information and Keima knew surprisingly little about what had happened in his original timeline after he was sent back in time. He needed to get his bearings and clean things up... which brought him back to the task at hand, as he looked at the person sitting in front of him.

Chihiro Kosaka was looking away from him, her chin placed on her hand, her face showing a mix of embarrassment and ignorance, as if she was completely unsure of her own emotions and how to express them. A typical Chihiro. Keima almost expected her to bring out her guitar and smile in a futile attempt to mask her mood.

Keima couldn't blame her of course. She still didn't know much of what had happened and she had to go through some things he didn't want her to go through. It was for the greater good and at that point he had been genuinely concerned about the well-being of the girls, but that didn't make the pain they suffered any smaller.

And Keima was responsible for it... it was his fault. With his gaming experience he should've predicted it and notice all the hints. He should've done it better.

But he didn't.

Even if he liked Chihiro it was completely fair for him to remain alone as punishment. But it wouldn't be fair for her. She had truly liked him, even if it seemed illogical to him. Now she was, of course, troubled and angry, but still liked him. Chihiro deserved the truth. Maybe not the entire truth about the devils... she deserved it alright, but Keima didn't want to get her anymore involved. Still, she deserved to know about the two of them.

Frankly, Keima himself wasn't sure where they stood. As Nikaidō had remarked, it was the first time he got serious in the real world. Keima for once was willing to act as a regular teenager. Therefore, he'd done what any seventeen-year-old would had done – he had confessed. He had been open and serious, the fact that Chihiro was here a proof of that. That his honesty was real.

Keima had been honest with her, but that didn't mean he understood his own feelings. He had definitely felt something, but it was difficult to pinpoint for someone as logical and pragmatic as him... especially with all those other worries and emotions during the past two weeks...

No... Keima realized he knew next to nothing about love in real-life. He had once berated Chihiro about taking love too lightly, but he had been operating on game logic and such logic didn't apply here. Long story short – Keima wasn't really sure what he wanted and how to get there, but he wasn't going to miss that route, wherever it might lead him to.

His musings were finally interrupted when the waitress arrived with their tea. At this point Chihiro couldn't ignore him anymore and he couldn't stall any longer either. They needed to talk. He just hoped that Chihiro would start talking first... From his experience he was considered a rude cockroach, cold otamegane and insensitive trouble child. Making Chihiro speak first was a bad move, but much better than him saying something he would regret.

"So..." Chihiro for once decided to cooperate with him, as she turned and looked at him with sharpest look that wasn't yet considered a glare. It didn't faze Keima though. I mean, Chihiro? Glaring and being angry with him? Picking a fight with him? Nothing new. "I guess we have some things to talk about... or rather you have some things to tell me, right?"

Keima just nodded, his default serious and expressionless look on his face.

Chihiro narrowed her eyes.

"Just to be clear, I'm still pissed" she stated what was obvious from a mile away. "And I know that you weren't telling the truth this morning" she told him bluntly. Keima broke the eye-contact and glanced to the side, being embarrassed in his own way. Chihiro stayed quiet for a few more seconds, waiting for some other response and then sighed. "Unfortunately, I think you weren't lying either... if that makes any sense."

"It's good that you understand that much" Keima told her, still not looking at her. This should have encouraged Chihiro, but made her uncertain instead. She grabbed the cup and started to sip the still hot tea in order to compose herself. She needed to change the topic. "And where are you beloved games? Ah, let me guess. You had five peaceful days of non-stop playing. You didn't even come to school. Am I right?"

This time Keima looked at her with a glare on his own. This brought a smile on Chihiro's lips. She still had it in her. Keima calmed himself quickly though.

"Your assumption isn't entirely wrong. I had five days of peaceful playing" he started, his eyes focused on her. "But you aren't completely correct either. First, after those five days I had three days that weren't peaceful at all-"

"Hold it right there" she told him. "You think I can't count? There were five days. Where did you get the three days?" she openly mocked him, now actually angry.

Keima only sighed.

"And what if I told you that I traveled back in time?" this statement was so outrageous that Chihiro went silent for a few seconds and then burst out laughing.

"That's good one otamega!" he didn't know why, but that had to be the first time the use of that old nickname of his actually bothered him.

"Ten years ago" he started, trying to remain calm. "You went to Maijima East Elementary School with Ayumi, right?" Chihiro looked at him blankly. "And Ayumi used to swim in the first grade, I am correct?"

Chihiro blinked and then frowned. "How do you know that? Well, it's not like it was a secret-"

"And..." Keima interrupted her. "And on the day of the closing ceremony on your first term a girl followed you to where Ayumi was swimming and then that girl stole your bike" Keima paused here and watched Chihiro, looking for a hint of recognition on her face. It came at last and then Keima added "and the girl was wearing a wig."

"Wait..." Chihiro told him. "You're not trying to imply..."

"At the beginning I found it hard to believe myself. Remember that I needed the power inside Ayumi? Turns out it wasn't enough, so I was sent back in time to put on those..." Keima paused for a second, remembering how Dokurō Skull had put it. "...finishing touches. Yes, the goddesses apparently can send someone back in time. And yes, that girl with a wig was me."

Chihiro remained quiet for a minute and Keima used that time to drink some of his tea.

"It... it was you?" Chihiro finally sputtered out. "And what do you mean a goddess?"

"So Haqua didn't tell you that much" he noticed Chihiro's confused look, so he explained "Haqua is the violet-haired girl with a big scythe you met during my conquest of Ayumi at the festival. Haqua is a devil. And no, she's not evil" Keima put his cup on the table before continuing. "The story is quite complicated, but in short we needed the power of the six goddesses to save the world. And the power of the goddess is love, thus I had to make six women fall in love with me and no, we didn't have enough time for the girls to find their one true love. I didn't want to do it, but it had to be done. Do you think I enjoyed making real girls fall in love with me? You think I didn't know that it wasn't fair to Ayumi? Or to you? Do you know that from the very beginning my life was put on the line? If I have refused I would have lost my head. Literally."

He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. He definitely wasn't his usual self today, but Chihiro always managed to make him lose his nerve. Scratch that, she managed to make him _care_ before he even started her original conquest.

"And that brings me to the point" he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah I mean... Wait, you're what?" Chihiro asked dumbfounded.

"I didn't really mean what I said back then on the rooftop" he confessed. If Chihiro was going to say anything that particular sentence shut her up. "One of the other hosts for the goddesses was Kanon. Remember when she confessed to me in class?" Chihiro nodded looking at him blankly. "Then I learned that she had a goddess in her. And the very same day she was wounded. Her life was in danger because of me."

"Wait a moment!" Chihiro stopped him. "I saw Kanon on TV during the festival."

"We didn't want an outbreak of panic, so we slipped in substitute for her... don't ask how we managed to do it" Chihiro didn't need to know about Elsie's involvement. That was really ironic though. Almost no-one had any idea that his "twin sister" was one of the most involved in this whole thing.

"Anyway, Kanon's life was on the line, the situation was getting more and more dangerous. And you confessed to me. I needed to reject you to keep you safe. I couldn't let Ayumi see the two of us together in order to bring out her goddess" Keima looked to the side. "Though that plan failed as well. That's why I rejected you so harshly. I wasn't tricking you with that date."

Chihiro face was turned downwards. "Then why?" she asked. "Why did you go on that date with me?"

Keima hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell her. "Frankly, we didn't know which girls hosted the goddesses. But it turned out the girls with the goddesses would be already partially in love with me. And you liked me, so I figured you were hosting a goddess, but obviously you weren't. In the end it was you who tricked me. And don't think you were the only one that suffered."

"What do you mean?"

"Before this entire thing started I wouldn't get involved with any of this, even if the world was to be destroyed... probably. But somewhere along the way I started to care... a little. You think I enjoyed making the girls fall in love with me? You think I enjoyed breaking you heart? Or Ayumi's? That I enjoyed being called the worst? You think you were the only one that cried that night? Or during the concert?"

"You... cried during my concert?" Chihiro asked and then for the first during this talk blushed. "You mean you realized that my song was about-"

"Yeah, I realized" Keima interrupted her. He also knew that Chihiro herself didn't realize just how ironic the title "The memory of my first love" was.

The girl was quiet for a while, probably processing all the information he had given her. The silence was nice, but the entire talk was getting too long. Keima felt the need to play some games increase with each passing second. He decided to drink the rest of his tea before it went cold.

"Then, let me guess" Chihiro spoke after a moment. "Yui was also a goddess host?"

Keima choked on his tea and coughed. "How do you know that?" he asked for the first time seeming truly surprised. Chihiro looked to the side, blushing a little as if she has accidentally learned some secret she was not supposed to learn. "During the concert I could see the wings on Ayumi, Yui and Kanon" she paused for a moment. "And on the other girls who were sitting above the stage. I don't know them though."

"You could see their wings?" Keima didn't know that. And it didn't make sense. Chihiro wasn't a devil, goddess or buddy. And the rest of the audience couldn't see the wings. So why?

Tch... there was still so much he didn't understand.

"Let's say I believe you" Chihiro's voice brought his attention back to her, she was glaring at him. "Still, I don't care if you were saving the world like knight in shinning armor. I'm still pissed..."

"That's hardly surprising and-" he told her bluntly.

"Buuuut" she cut him off. "I'm willing to become a little less pissed if you explain more to me. Let's start with-"

"No" it was his turn to cut her off. "I'm not telling you anything more."

"Huh?" she was clearly surprised. "Why not?"

"Because I already got you more involved than I should."

"You mean I'm still in danger? You're still in danger?"

"I doubt that" Keima responded. "That thing is over. But I don't want to take any chances" he looked at her. "If you want to know anymore you should ask Ayumi. Her goddess can explain some general things, but she won't tell you everything either" not that the goddesses know everything in the first place. "I'm not recommending it though. Ayumi has no idea of your involvement, aside from me going on a date with you and you revealing my conquest to her. Whether you ask her or not is your decision. I won't stop you."

"Then at least tell me this – did you enjoy our date?"

Keima remained quiet for so long that Chihiro was sure he wasn't going to answer, but he did.

"Frankly, if I wasn't searching for the goddesses I wouldn't go on that date in the first place. And I couldn't enjoy it because I was constantly worried about saving everyone and about not kissing you in the public, because the enemy was already close and they would be able to see your wings" Chihiro looked down once again. "But" Keima spoke, making her look up. "if I were to choose now then it wouldn't be such a bad date. I still don't get you real girls and I hate your imperfections and shenanigans... but I think that's part of your charm" he glared at her. "You should be proud to hear those words from the God of Conquest."

"So you're still a cold jerk, aren't you?" Chihiro told him, but she was smiling a smile that was almost non-hostile.

"That didn't stop you from liking me. How did you put it? You don't need a reason to like someone?"

Chihiro blushed, but didn't look away, her gaze only becoming more determined.

"So... let's sum it up" she told him. "You're not going to tell me anything more. You still prefer virtual girls over real girls, but you start to see the real girls as charming as well. That means almost anything in the real life, but for an otamega like you it is enough to try and confess to me, right?"

Keima looked away and... was this a blush on his face? "Yeah, something like that."

"That's the strangest thing I heard in my entire life, all the things I heard today including. "You like me, but you don't like me. That's really messed up."

"You don't know the half of it" he told her.

By now the both of their cups were empty.

"So what now?" it was Keima who asked this question.

"You ask me?" Chihiro was incredulous.

"Who else? Among the two of us you're the one that knows the real."

Chihiro bit her lip, but the look in her eyes was that of determination.

"I need time. I think both of us need it. I don't know if I want to get involved with you. I don't know if those small, tiny feelings I still have for you are worth it. And I refuse to accept your 'I love you, but I don't get real girls' bullshit. You better use this time to figure out whether you're want to stay with real or with the virtual."

"I won't abandon my games if that's what you're implying" he told her with his usual ignorant and sarcastic I'm-better-than-you voice. "But I can promise you that I'll think about getting more involved in the real. Actually, you should think about getting less involved in the real."

"After my dead body" Chihiro told him.

"Oh?" Keima smirked at her. He actually smirked. "Wasn't you the one who thought of yourself as normal and average and tried confessing to every hot guy in school? And despite being the embodiment of the real you didn't put any effort into your life. We were really alike back then, except I was content with me life and you were just trying to not make any efforts, because you feared it would go to waste."

By the time he finished talking Chihiro was blushing a brand new shade of red. Of course she didn't remember her conquest and she didn't remember the talk they had on the Akanemaru.

"Thank you for the tea" Chihiro said, grabbing her bag and standing up. "Umm..."

"I will pay for the tea" Keima said. It was good to be one step ahead of her for once.

"Yeah, thanks..." she replied, her blush intensifying. "See you at school, I guess..."

"Yeah" he told her and watched her leave in quite a hurry. And then he sighed. Chihiro was unpredictable as ever, he just couldn't figure her out and actually just now managed to enter her route even though he hadn't be planning to do that soon. The real was a pain, he concluded as he paid for the tea and left.

Ten seconds later he was already playing one of his dating sims. Tomorrow would be probably a busy day as well, so he should play as much as he could now. And he shouldn't probably go home just yet. Who knew what his little devil sister was up to.

 **(* * *)**

 **As you have probably noticed I took the liberty of interpreting the manga ending in my own way. In result Keima and Chihiro are not as close as they could have been at this point. I needed it for the plot, but to me it looks surprisingly natural.**

 **Also the part when Keima explains things... you should probably get used to that... and sorry if Keima is more or less OOC here...**

 **Trivia: the title of this chapter is a reference to Flag 27 of the original manga.  
**

 **Anyway, the next chapter should appear on Wednesday. Drop me a review if you liked this one!**

 **See you next time!**


	3. Flag 03: Student and teacher affection

**Hello! Here goes another chapter as promised, but before we get to it, I would like to thank for all the reivews, favorites and follows until now. They are quite motivating. It's good to know that the fandom for KamiNomi is still alive.**

 **Okay, here we go.**

 **(* * *)**

It was a Wednesday morning and Keima was currently in his bed, trying to get a few hours of sleep after gaming the previous evening. He was very much tempted to play some more and ignore sleeping or, better yet, sleep till noon and ignore school... but he had already ignored it for a few days straight and he couldn't afford it anymore.

Not with his mother a step away from taking off her glasses and giving him a piece of her mind.

Thus, Keima was going to milk his precious sleeping time to the very last second and no power on Earth could get him out of his be-

"Nii-sama! Time to wake up!"

He didn't even have the strength in him to shot out from bed in anger and yell at this unwelcome development, so he just groaned and pretended he didn't hear anything.

If I ignore it, it will go away, he told himself.

"Nii-sama!" the voice was much closer and more annoying now and Keima briefly wondered how Eri managed to get inside his room. Didn't he lock it yesterday? Come to think of it, he returned late last night and was scolded, but Eri wasn't home, his mother told him that she was hanging with her friends.

His was brought out of his musings by a pair of hands shaking him awake. Keima groaned again. Couldn't she be so effective when hunting for loose souls?

"Nii-sama, I know you're tired and all, but mother said that I have to get you downstairs now or else you won't be the only one in trouble!"

"Alright, alright, I get it! Stop this already!" Keima exclaimed, tossing a pillow at her. "Now get out!"

After the door to his room closed Keima stayed for a while, trying to focus. He looked around, but noticed nothing out of ordinary. If it wasn't for Eri's loud behavior it would be his typical morning. Wait... Eri's antics were already part of his daily life. Based on this it could be really considered a relatively normal morning.

This pattern continued through the breakfast, with Keima trying to maintain a delicate equilibrium – he didn't want his mother to think he was being nice and normal, but he didn't want to make her angry and go ballistic either.

And thus Keima found himself walking to school with Eri. His trusted PFP was in his hands, but the God of Conquest kept looking around from time to time. So far everything was normal. Diana didn't barge into his room through the window. He didn't find Haqua in his living room. Nor in his bathroom. The greatest anomaly was the sun shinning brightly, as if it wasn't informed it was already November.

Not even Eri's loose soul detector went off, which was quite natural, because she didn't have it anymore. And this, in turn, begged a question: what exactly was Eri now? He probably should figure that one out before they get to school.

"So, Eri" he started, surprisingly getting his twin sister's attention. Wait, was she his twin now or was she still 300 years old? Or more like thousands years old... Never mind that. "What exactly did you do?"

"Huh... what do you mean nii-sama?" she asked innocently.

He rolled his eyes. "You know exactly what I mean. I know that you were some big-and-scary devil super-weapon or something like that. And I don't want to know how you did what you did. But I want to know _what_ you did. Mom thinks you're Eri and we're twins, right? What else should I know?"

Eri looked at Keima for a moment. "That's pretty much it. Everyone should think we're twins. No, they should _know_ we're twins. 'Cause we really are" she smiled at him using her usual megawatt smile.

"Everyone?" Keima asked her. "You mean also everyone at school? What about my-I mean our father? What about Haqua, Nora and Nikaidō? What about your older sister?"

Eri's face remained smiling for a moment until realization hit her. "Aaah! I didn't think about that!" she screamed, holding her head with her hands. "Forgive me, Onee-sama!"

Keima sighed. He has expected this much, though he was fairly certain his sister will continue to surprise him in the future.

"Wait..." Eri stopped in her tracks and turned to him. "Why did you mention Nikaidō-sensei?"

Keima looked at her blankly and then smirked. "You don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"You remember Dokurō, the little girl who called me 'onii-chan', the one created by Dukorō Skull, you superior from Hell?"

Eri nodded.

"She and Nikaidō-sensei" Keima took off his glasses for emphasis. "Are the same person."

For a second nothing happened and then... there it was – Eri's face was that of pure shock and Keima smirked. Ahh... revenge felt good.

"That's impossible" Eri exclaimed. "But wait... that would explain a lot... Nikaidō-sensei recognized me even when I was disguised as Kanon-chan!"

That was another thing Keima didn't know, but he didn't let it show.

"Last question" he said. "Are you a real human now? I mean what about your magic powers?"

"I am a real human now and I don't have any devil powers anymore" that didn't calm Keima down... even when not acting like a devil Eri could create incredible mess, often with words alone.

"So you can't do anything even with your hagoromo?"

"Hagoromo works by tapping into its user's magical power and I don't have it now" Eri answered. "Besides, what'd you mean 'can't do anything'? I'm plenty useful!" she yelled, flailing her arms comically.

"Let's go" Keima said, ignoring her outburst. "We'll be late for school."

(* * *)

Eri apparently took offense and decided to run to school ahead of him, leaving Keima on his own. Not that he complained. He continued his gaming, still prepared for all hell to break loose... literally and figuratively.

Yet, nothing happened and Keima managed to reach the school grounds. He walked to his class, furtively observing other students. No-one was talking to him, no-one was looking at him as if he was a six-timing bastard. He looked over his shoulder.

No Yui. No Kanon. Nothing.

He finally arrived at the door to his classroom and reached for the handle, experiencing a minor sense of deja vu. Then the door slid open and the feeling turned into a major one.

In front of him stood Ayumi Takahara.

She blinked, then looked up, then visibly tensed and Keima was for the second time reminded that the first words were important.

What should he say? No point in playing stranger or being too cold, right?

"Good morning... Ayumi" Keima said. He wasn't going to feel guilty... but just in case he averted his eyes. He also moved to the side, so she could walk and wouldn't get an excuse to kick him.

Ayumi remained still for a moment and then her eyes narrowed. Keima tensed, he almost could sense an ominous aura around the High Mai Unguided Missile, but...

"Morning" Ayumi told him and then walked past him. It wasn't the first time a real girl made Keima confused, but at least she wasn't hurting him. He just hoped she didn't lose her memory... that would be a pain in the ass.

He was just about to walk into the classroom when he heard Ayumi's voice behind him.

"Just to be clear, I'm still pissed" she told him. Keima knew she and Chihiro were childhood friends, but they didn't have to use the same lines. Or did they plan it beforehand? "And you _will_ explain things to me later."

And with that she was gone.

Keima sighed and walked into the classroom. As expected almost everyone ignored him as per usual and the few people that didn't ignore him we're still pretending to do so. Chihiro was talking with Eri and both of them appeared louder and more busy when he walked past them.

"Good morning, Katsuragi" it was Miyako – probably the only other classmate, beside Ayumi, that acknowledged his existence.

"Yeah, good morning" he answered, but his eyes were directed at Chihiro, hoping it was enough for a greeting, though the girl continued to ignore him.

Keima sat down and resumed his gaming, he needed to get as much of his precious gaming oxygen as possible. Soon Ayumi returned, leaving Keima with a strange suspicion... where did she go? Was she meeting with other goddess hosts?

And right then the door opened and, unsurprisingly, his homeroom teacher walked in.

"Quiet down! Get back to your seats!"

Yuri Nikaidō walked to the blackboard and started issuing instructions... or more like orders.

"Open your textbooks on the page 67" something was off. Nikaidō looked around. Did Kanon come to school today? No, her seat was empty... Other students were present, no-one was missing. Was someone talking? No, she couldn't hear any hushed conversations... in fact it was too quiet. It was almost as if...

Nikaidō stopped her talking, her eyes widening a little. Some of the students seemed confused by their teacher's behavior. Some didn't even notice it. And some couldn't notice as they were busy looking exactly where Nikaidō was looking – Keima's desk.

Keima was sitting with his cheek propped on his palm, his eyes bored but attentive, his textbook open in front of him, his PFP nowhere in sight. This particular phenomenon made some heads turn with confusion. Miyako furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Eri questioningly. The black-haired teen shook her head with an apologetic smile and glanced at Ayumi as if the girl was some sort of Katsuragi expert, but the runner only shrugged. Even Chihiro raised her head from her textbook, but quickly turned back. Keima discreetly raised his eyebrow, making Nikaidō snap back to reality and continue with her lecture.

The rest of the lesson proceeded as normally as it did for the last few days when Keima was absent. Ayumi kept glancing at the gamer from the corner of her eye, genuinely curious. And then she saw him pulling a PFP out from his pocket when the teacher was writing something on the blackboard.

So it was just a lie. Typical Keima. Ayumi smiled a bitter smile. She observed Keima quickly press some buttons on the slide-out keyboard... and then he put his PFP away once more.

And Ayumi felt her cell phone vibrate. No, she thought when she reached for it, it couldn't be...

"Can an explanation wait till tomorrow? Or at least till after school? I have to check some things first. P.S. Don't expect an exhaustive explanation."

Ayumi blinked. How did he manage to type this message so quickly? And how did he know her e-mail address? She sighed. Probably through Eri or Chihiro... Ayumi was tempted to refuse, especially since "check some things first" sounded dangerously close to "check some girls first", but that wasn't her concern anymore... Besides she doubted he would explain anything anyway...

"Fine" she mailed him back.

Finally the bell rang and Keima stood up. He pulled out his PFP and made a beeline for the door, hoping that Eri was still offended enough to leave him alone. He walked out of the classroom and...

"Keima-kun!"

...he groaned when Yui glomped him. "Did you miss me?"

"No, I didn't miss _this_ " he replied. "And certainly not in public, get off me! Now!"

Yui let go of him, but continued to smile, while Keima looked around searching for any threatening glares, but there were none. Either no-one noticed or no-one realized Yui was a woman, her cross-dressing coming in handy for once.

"What are you doing here?" Keima asked, trying to focus on his game. "You want an explanation?"

Yui's smile only widened. "Nah... we'll have all the time in the world for explanations after we marry!" Keima was kinda prepared for such declaration, but it still managed to throw him off balance.

"Quiet!" he told her, trying not to panic. "And I'm _not_ going to marry you. Didn't you hear what I said at the beach?" he asked, but knew it was futile.

"And I said before that I'll make you see love. It'll help us overcome all!"

At this point Keima was only looking for an escape route, but Yui was smart enough to bring him into a corner, getting closer. Was she aware of his weakness towards her?

It looked really bad and Keima was already feeling dizzy... when a hand appeared out of nowhere and slammed into wall in between Yui and Keima.

"Hoo? Isn't it Goidō- _kun_?" a voice followed that made both Keima and Yui turn their heads only to see... Yuri Nikaidō.

"Umm... Good morning, sensei!" Yui said with a bright smile, but Keima sensed her hesitation. So she finally has met her match, huh? He almost sighed in relief. He was saved.

"Do you want something from Katsuragi-kun?" Nikaidō asked and then continued without waiting for reply. "Too bad, but Katsuragi wasn't behaving in class and I need to have a word with him" she grabbed Keima by his shoulder and dragged him away, leaving Yui perplexed.

"Huh? Yui?" the girl in question turned around to see Chihiro in the doorway. "What are you doing here? Our training session is later on. You just couldn't wait, huh?" the short-haired girl asked with a smirk.

"Yeah" Yui answered with a nervous smile and her hand behind her head.

Damn, she was so close.

(* * *)

Keima followed Nikaidō to an empty hallway, glad that she managed to get Yui off his back, though he wasn't sure that his situation actually improved.

"So..." Nikaidō said when they were alone. "I try for years to get you to pay attention to my class with no effect and suddenly you turn into a proper student. You're impossible as always."

"Look who's talking" Keima responded, his PFP back in his hands, but his eyes were locked on Nikaidō. "Besides, what makes you think I never pay attention in class? You underestimate my ability to multi-task."

"But you still consider my lessons boring, don't you?"

"As a part of the real, it would be surprising if it wasn't boring, so it's not your fault."

"Oh? I'm just a mere human compared to the God of Conquest, so it's just natural, huh?"

"Hmpf, don't play dumb. You a mere human? Show me another human who saved Earth and New Hell and knows as much as you."

"Funny... I'm looking at one right now... Well, we can argue all day long, but it seems you finally took interest in the real" Nikaidō teased him.

Keima looked away. "It's just a little bit. But you do have a point. Thanks for helping me with Yui, by the way."

"No problem, _onii-chan_ " she told him, making him look at her strangely, as if he was expecting her to jump and hug him.

"Was there anything else you needed from me, _Dokurō_?" Keima asked.

"No, but I have a feeling that you did."

Keima nodded.

"A few things actually. First, how much you remember?"

"What do you mean?"

"Take my sister for example. Do you remember her as Eri Katsuragi, my human twin sister or as Elucia de Lute Irma, a more than 300-year-old super-weapon, turned devil, by your former self, then turned my adopted sister then turned human?"

Nikaidō opened her mouth to answer then closed it, her eyes widening.

"Well...?" Keima asked, but already knew the answer.

"Now that you mention it, I remember her as your twin sister... but I _know_ that she was a devil 300 hundred years ago... How could that..." she sighed. "Of course... she altered the reality."

"As incompetently as you could expect from her" it was just as Keima predicted. Being right was actually becoming a bother. "Next thing. Are you really planning to quit teaching?"

At this Nikaidō was visibly surprised for a moment, but then smiled a knowing and soft smile. "Oh, stop saying such things _onii-chan_ , you almost seem like you're worried about me..."

"Just answer the question."

"I told you already, didn't I? You have an opinion to share?"

"Yes, I do" Keima turned to her, his eyes serious, a look you would expect from an older brother scolding a sibling. "You said that you protected the New Hell and thus your job was done. You said it like you had lost all the meaning to live. Are you planing to just disappear and die?"

"No" she answered, crossing her arms over her chest. "I left the suicidal stage behind me."

"Exactly" Keima said. "You're no longer that Dokurō that had no purpose beyond this whole incident. You're a human. You have your own will. Isn't there something you'd like to do? Was teaching nothing more than a way to keep an eye on me to you?"

"In short, you want me to continue teaching? You can't say you consider me your perfect teacher?"

"My opinion doesn't matter amongst the rest of the students" Keima replied, clinking through his game. "I was under the impression you like your job" he glanced at her. "Unless all that sadistic behavior was just a farce as well."

"Who knows?" she replied, unwilling to let him know too much. She was all too aware of his analytical skills.

"I just don't think it's right. You wasted enough of your life already. You may look an act as an adult, but some part of you is still that lost girl. How old were you back then? Thirteen?"

"Well... at least back then I was more mature than you are now" she smirked at him.

"You mean _after_ I taught you to use the toilet?"

That actually earned him a smack to the head.

"For _your_ information, Tenri and Shōtarō taught me a lot more than you!"

"Shōtarō?" Keima asked. "You mean Urara's grandfather?"

"Oh right" Nikaidō said and then smiled an evil smile. "You wouldn't know about the role he played in helping the goddesses bring you back. It seems the three of us really made a fool out of you..."

"Whatever. Are they fine?"

"The Shiratoris? Yes. Apparently, Urara is trying to become an astronomer and she needed to go to the USA for that. Her grandfather thought it was a great idea to keep her out of the harm's way. And he is fine as well, although he was lightly wounded during the incident."

"Is he still looking young enough to be Urara's father?" Keima asked and then groaned when he heard the sound of the bell.

"Yes..."

"If I didn't see him mortally wounded, I'd say he is indestructible. And with an ego to boot."

"Looks who's talking... anyway I suggest you head back to the classroom or else there _will_ be punishment."

"Yeah, yeah" Keima replied, already on his way for his next class. "Just think about what I said."

"I will."

 **(* * *)**

 **Okay, so what do you think about this one? Like it? Don't like it? I would like to know your opinions!**

 **The title's chapter is a reference to a particular soundtrack from Naruto, but I think it fits... more or less. Also I'm sorry for the slow-pacing and a lot of talking about the things we already know... in this and subsequent chapters.**

 **I plan to post the next chapter on Friday, so see you till then!**

 **And reviews are always appreciated.**


	4. Flag 04: Book of Knowledge

**Hello. Here we go with another, slightly shorter, chapter. I hope you'll like it. I also want to thank everyone for their support. :)**

 **Two technical issues. First I experience problems with image for the story (and I see I'm not the only one) and it's really annoying. And the second thing: I promised you this chapter on Friday and I'm posting it just after midnight... but that's in my country... so don't be surprised if the chapter is too early/too late.**

 **All right, onto the chapter!**

 **(* * *)**

To his fellow classmates Keima's sudden change was surprising, but they had thought that Keima would be thorough with it – if he had stopped playing games during Nikaidō's class, then he would surely stop playing in other classes as well. That might have been true.

But certainly not for Kodama's lesson.

"Katsuragi!" the angry teacher yelled. " _No play_ during class. Do you hear me?! Kora!"

The student in question apparently didn't hear and continued pushing buttons on his console. Most of the students either ignored the two of them or just shook their heads.

"Katsuragi! You haven't aced all of my tests, you scored only 99% in that one test" the rest of the students sweatdropped – nobody could normally even dream about gaining 99% percent on even one of Kodama's tests or, as the teacher liked to call them, "times of reckoning".

"We had a deal!"

"Don't worry" Keima finally spoke. "Since I got 99% in every test I'll be sure to stop playing when 99% of the lesson time is over" he briefly raised his eyes from the console. "Which gives you thirty seconds."

This resulted in a comical face fault on Kodama's part after which the teacher gave up and returned to his desk, almost crawling on the floor in defeat.

Ayumi shook her head, but she had a strange urge to smile. She contained it though and glanced at Keima. The boy probably just wanted to have his gaming time undisturbed. All business and no time to laugh.

Thus, she was greatly surprised when the boy glanced at her and then shot her a look that could only be described as... playful. No, that couldn't be right. There was no way...

The class ended eventually. Ayumi stood up with the intention of buying some calories, but as she was walking to the door she heard a whisper.

"Hey, Ayumi" it was coming from Keima.

"What do you want?" she asked in a hushed voice as well. "I don't have a time for you explanation now."

"It's not that" he replied. "I need a little favor."

She was silent for a moment. "You have some guts... You're-"

"Yeah, I know, I am a six-timing trash cockroach cross-dressing disgrace of a man otamega. I know" he told her. That's... well that's not what Ayumi meant to say. "But I need your help."

"With what?"

"Yui is probably waiting outside the classroom" Keima shrunk a little in his chair as in fear. "Could you distract her for a moment? Ten seconds would be enough" he explained. "Normally I would ask Eri, but she's mad at me. And Chihiro might be as well."

No shit, Ayumi thought. "Fine, but you owe me."

"Yeah. Could you also bring Yui to the school gate after classes? I don't want to talk to her alone."

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"Bring her and you'll know why."

Talking to Keima and helping him wasn't what Ayumi wanted to do, but for some reason she nodded.

"Finally ready to let me lend you my strength, huh?" she asked him with a sly face. "Fine, I'll help you out" she turned around to leave.

"Ayumi" she stopped. "Thank you."

"Y-yeah."

(* * *)

Good, with Ayumi's help I can move around freely at last, Keima thought as he exited the high school building and headed for his next stop.

The library.

He entered the paper fortress and walked between the shelves stuffed with tangible knowledge. It was only a break between classes, but he was fairly certain that Shiori would be at her usual event-triggering spot.

"Eek!"

And he was right.

The bibliophile girl was sitting behind her desk, she opened her mouth, but no words came, a clearly surprised look on her face. He hoped that she wasn't too angry with him.

"K-ka-katsuragi-kun?" she asked as if not believing her eyes.

"Hello, Shiori" he started. "Can I sit down?" he pointed at the chair conveniently placed close to her desk.

Shiori grabbed a book from her desk and lifted it to hide the lower half of her face. And then she nodded. Keima dragged the chair next to Shiori's desk, sat down and pulled out his PFP.

"I guess you're wondering what am I doing here, right?" he asked and after seeing her nod he continued. "Well, first, I bet you remember I said that I want to see you everyday, right?"

Another nod.

"I suppose you now know that it was required to bring out your goddess" he glanced at her. He needed to say this, but he didn't want to hurt her. Reading her reactions was important. And difficult.

"Y-yes" she replied in her usual meek voice, her book raised to eye level.

"Well, it wasn't exactly a lie. I don't mind coming here, especially since it's quiet. It certainly won't be 'everyday', but I can pay you a visit from time to time" he told her. "If you're okay with this of course."

He expected her to immediately blush or call him "idiot" or something like that, but Shiori remained silent for a longer while. He could almost see cogs turning in her head.

"Shiori?"

"I-I'll think about it" she spoke with a little more authority and power than usual.

It was his turn to nod. "Another thing. You'd probably want to know a little more about what was going on, right?"

This time her reaction was instantaneous – she leapt up, there was some crashing noises and the shy girl ended up half-buried in books.

Boy, didn't that sound familiar.

Keima ignored the curious looks they were receiving from a few people in the library and helped the girl dig herself out.

"U-um... thank fyou" she told him and then realized what she said, her cheeks turning pink. "T-thank you! I meant to say thank you!" she corrected herself and then blushed more – she said that a lot louder than she intended.

Keima inwardly chuckled. He guessed some things weren't going to change so easily.

"Don't mention it" he told her matter-of-factly. "Anyway, we don't have a lot of time, so let's go back to the topic. First, I can't really tell you much, even though I would really want to. It's not like I enjoy keeping secrets from you."

Keima knew Shiori and the other goddess hosts deserved the truth, but he wasn't certain it was entirely safe. It would also be annoying and he doubted they could really understand everything. And what was he supposed to tell them? Hey, Yui. You remember Mio and Urara? They were my conquest targets too. You can go and talk to them. No problem.

No... the way things were he would rather keep them, mostly, in the dark and endure their complaints and hate. Again, it's not like he was doing it to be liked.

Keima turned around, expecting Shiori to be angry, but the girl looked surprised. And she wasn't looking at him.

"Shiori?"

And then he heard a meaningful cough behind him. He slowly turned his head and though he was sitting he didn't have to look up to gaze into this new person's eyes.

The clear blue and slightly narrowed eyes of one Tsukiyo Kujō.

"Tsukiyo?" Keima asked. The girl was carrying her doll Luna with her as per usual. "What are you doing here?"

The short girl huffed.

"I'm here to meet with Shiori, got a problem with that, Katsuragi?"

So it went back from "Keima" to "Katsuragi", but it was to be expected, nothing to fret about. The only thing he did worry about was Tsukiyo regressing to her old habits. But...

"Since when the two of you hang out together?" Keima asked looking from one girl to the other.

"Um, s-since we were looking after your younger self K-Katsuragi-kun" Shiori answered from behind her book.

That flag was unexpected, but it wasn't bad. Those two definitely needed to spend more time with fellow human beings, keeping them both from regressing. And he wouldn't need to waste time looking for Tsukiyo later. A splendid development indeed.

Shiori seemed to read his mind.

"K-Katsuragi-kun was just saying he would explain _some_ of the things that has happened" she said quietly, but her voice held a hint of accusation.

"Unfortunately, I don't want to listen to your explanation" Tsukiyo all but shouted. "No explanation is going to help anything! I'll see you later Shiori when this... this..." she searched for words. "This excuse of a man won't be here anymore" and with this she was off.

"Um, K-Kujō-san!" Shiori started to say, but Keima stopped her.

"Let her go" he said. "She has the right to be angry. I expected a slap to be honest."

"N-no way" Shiori exclaimed. "K-Kujō-san wouldn't do that."

Keima smiled weakly. "She did it before... but maybe you're right... she's not like she used to be. And neither are you" he glanced back at Shiori and she raised her book to her face once again. "Actually... I thought you'd be angry as well."

"I am!" Shiori exclaimed. It seemed anger was still the best way for her to express herself. "But I-"

"Excuse me" they both turned their heads to see a student smiling nervously at them. "Um, I would like to borrow this book."

"Um, sure" Shiori replied, taking the book and scanning it. "Please return it in two weeks."

"Okay" the boy replied and left after tossing a curious glance at Keima.

The two of them remained quiet for a moment.

"So where were we?" Keima asked. "I think it had something to do with you being angry."

Shiori had a determined look on her face, as least for her standards.

"I-I am angry. I'm really angry, j-just like the other time" did she mean her conquest or reconquest? Or maybe when he was time-traveling. "But I want to know what happened" she paused for a moment. "A-and I'm sure Kujō-san wants to know that too!"

"Then you can tell her everything I'm about to tell you" Keima replied. "She probably trusts you more than she trusts me anyway..." he glanced at the clock on the wall. "We don't have much time. What do you want to know?"

"W-what does Maijima city has to do with all this?" Shiori asked immediately.

Keima sighed. "Have you seen my letter? The one Tenri had?" Shiori nodded. "Then this will be easy. Remember the part about me exorcising the devils in your hearts?" Another nod. "Then you know about both devils and goddesses. Nowadays most of the devils are good, but it wasn't always like that. Once upon a time there was a huge battle and goddesses, Minerva among them, joined the battle to defeat the wicked devils. The battle took place mostly in Hell, but it also stretched to our world. Here. Hundreds of years ago. You've met the old man Shiratori, right?"

"Y-yes!" Shiori was by this point listening to his every world, making Keima feel as if he was some new book Shiori was studying.

"He told me a legend of how the battling goddesses looked as if they were dancing. Hence, Maijima – the island of dance" Keima told her. "Well, apparently the school itself draws from this" he patted his uniform. "Our emblem is a hexagon with a goddess inside. Sounds familiar, right?"

He paused, exploiting the fact that Shiori tried to process this new information. She was quiet outside, but he was certain on the inside she was buzzing with activity. That's cute... or at least that's what any other boy would think. But not Keima.

Still, this was annoying. Did he have to explain the same things to every goddess host? It would be more convenient to gather them all... but he was afraid of that. Otherwise he would explain things back then when he woke up after coming back from the past. This was all too ineffective. Wasn't there a better way? Wait a moment... maybe there was.

"I have an idea" he spoke aloud, receiving an "eek!" from the librarian girl. "I don't want to repeat everything six times, so I have a proposition."

"Y-yes?"

"How about you and the other girls exchange information? I know the goddesses might be wary with sharing some things, but you can tell them they have my permission. Minerva's listening right now, so she can confirm it, right?" he paused to see Shiori nod. "That way you can fill some of the blanks of the last two weeks. You can also pay a visit to the old man Shiratori. He certainly likes to talk, so he can tell you a lot. And he'd probably like to meet the goddesses in person. So... if the six of you still have some questions after that you can just ask me again... though I doubt I'll be able to tell you much more than what goddesses know."

"B-but there's much more than that!" Shiori replied, getting closer to him. "I know there is! There's got to be! I want to know more!"

"Sorry" Keima shot her a serious look. "There are things not really related to the goddesses. Things about Hell and my personal matters. Why should I tell you about it?"

For a moment there was silence and Keima assumed he had won the argument, but then...

"You're afraid."

That absurdity of that statement and the sheer confidence in Shiori's voice caught Keima off guard.

"What?" he asked back as if he didn't hear her. "Me? Afraid? You must be joking."

"No, I'm not!" Shiori stood up. She was no longer using the book to hide her face, but she held it tightly to her chest. She wasn't yelling, but it wasn't her usual voice either. She was definitely angry. "W-we're in no more danger than back then, right? Wouldn't it be easier to p-protect ourselves if we knew the entire story? I deeply respect you K-Katsuragi-kun" Keima was opening his mouth to reply, but kept quiet, surprised by her words. "I know you had... your r-reasons! And I know... it wasn't easy for you!" she was making weird pauses, as if she was trying to say too much and finally stopped for a second to breathe.

Keima exploited this.

"I just don't want to get involved with the real!" he said trying to look angry and disgusted. Please, let her buy it.

"Liar!" she told him, leaning over the counter to look him in the eye. "I read your letter. You're just afraid! What do you fear? That we'll hate you? That we'll drag you into this world? This is what you wanted for me and Kujō-san. Yet, you're afraid to let it happen to you? Or..."

Shiori made a dramatic pause, something she probably picked out from one of her beloved books. Keima didn't even think about responding. Was it really Shiori? Usually not even Ayumi or Tsukiyo were this forceful. This feeling of helplessness. It was almost as if he was talking with Yui.

"Or are you worried that we will learn about other girls?"

Keima opened and closed his mouth a few times. Control. He got to regain control.

"O-other girls?" why was he the one stuttering now?

"I-I haven't really... talked with anyone... They're all so scary! Especially Takahara-san... and Goidō-san..." Shiori finally seemed to run out of steam, her face becoming red and she stepped back from the counter. "B-but I have talked with Kujō-san... It certainly feels like there's more to the story... And-and that troubles you... but you're afraid to open your heart to us! You helped us, yet you won't let us help you..."

With this Shiori's courage run out and she fell down back on her chair, red face hidden inside an open book. After such an outburst she would have trouble speaking for days!

Keima didn't reply and they sat there in silence until the bell rang, but Keima seemed not to hear it, as several more seconds passed before he spoke.

"I don't need any help" he said gloomily. "I don't need to get involved with any of this. I didn't ask to get involved with any of this. I just want to be left alone" and with this he stood up and walked away in silence.

Shiori didn't really know Keima that well. She didn't know about him being called the otamega. Scratch that, she wasn't really much aware of his gaming habits. But even she could tell his words were true, but they were only true for the old Keima. She had seen the letter, she had heard the bitterness in his voice. He was just lying to himself and, being a good liar, started to believe his own lies. Or maybe he believed in it from the very beginning. But all this just made it clear that he was wrong and she was right. He was lost in this new world, just as she had been lost outside of her library. He needed help.

And he needed it badly.

 **(* * *)**

 **We still have mostly talking for now, but I think we all see that Keima is slowly losing his ground. :)**

 **Also sorry for Shiori acting a little OoC.**

 **Once again, if you liked this chapter drop me a review! See you next time, most probably on Saturday!**


	5. Flag 05: Crossfire

**Hello, I'm back with the next chapter of The World Not Only God Knows!**

 **The truth is I planned to post chapters once every two days (at least for now) and this one was supposed to be posted on Sunday... but I said Saturday by mistake. Well, I'm not going to go back on my word, so here it is. But the next chapter will probably be posted on Tuesday.**

 **As always I would like to thank you for the reviews and all the support.**

 **Here we go!**

 **(* * *)**

Many times during his conquests he had proven that he was capable of a perfect poker face whenever he tried. He didn't show his emotions, he operated with logic and kept his cool even when faced with grave danger. He had proved this when he had jumped after Tsukiyo. He also acted calm while ignoring the world around him, his first meeting with Kanon an example of that.

Still, there had been times when he simply hadn't been trying to stay calm and let his emotions took over, proving that he _was_ capable of yelling, overreacting or even crying... especially if his precious PFP had been damaged.

His arrogance and pride of a gamer had blinded him however, making him ignore those obvious sings of lack of control. He had always criticized the childish behavior that Elsie and Haqua, at the age of 300, displayed... but now, after getting an earful from Shiori of all people he wasn't so sure that he was that different.

No... that was absurd. He had been planning to get a little more involved with the real, but this was going too fast and too deep. Being dragged into the real by Eri, Chihiro and Ayumi was already troublesome and it would only continue to get worse... But he might've underestimated the real. Maybe he should stick to his own world 100 percent after all?

Those were the thoughts of Keima Katsuragi as he was playing his galge, leaning on a tree. His beloved games managed to calm him down some, but it wasn't enough – he was still surprisingly _affected_ by the words of the little librarian. And the worst thing of all was the he couldn't tell what affected him more: Shiori's words or the fact that she really believed in them. But it made no sense. That would mean he _cared_ what she thought of him and that should be impossible. He had written in the letter that he wanted to walk like everyone, _with_ everyone, but he didn't expect that kind of direct attack! He didn't need help. And he certainly wasn't afraid.

Classes had finished over an hour ago and he had been waiting since then, from time to time glancing from his console and surveying his surroundings.

And finally he saw them – the 2-B pencils left the high school building. He observed them for a few moments and sure enough, Eri, Chihiro and Miyako left the school grounds heading god knows where. Ayumi and Yui stayed however. The coast was clear. Keima sighed and put his game console in his pocket. He couldn't stall anymore. And why would he? It's not like he was afraid. Well, maybe he was a little afraid of Yui, but that's it. That was the only source of anxiety he felt when he started walking towards them.

(* * *)

"Are you sure Keima-kun will come?" Yui asked, a hint of worry evident in her voice.

"No, I'm not sure. I'm only here because he asked me" well, that was not completely true, but it would do.

"But, he said he'll be here, right? Keima-kun wouldn't break his promise!" Yui asked while looking at the high school building.

"I would be more surprised if he actually kept a promise for once."

"I can hear you, you know?" a voice spoke behind her and Ayumi turned around in an instant, coming face-to-face with Keima. However, before she could even become embarrassed or angry Yui whizzed past her with speed that Ayumi would be proud of and caught Keima in a tight embrace, as if she haven't seen him for months.

"Keima-kun, you came! And here I was beginning to think you have been avoiding me!" Yui exclaimed while she practically snuggled with him.

"Don't touch! Don't touch!" Keima replied, actively trying to push Yui away, but to no avail. "Ayumi!" he said. "Get her off me!" no reaction. "Ayumi!" he all but yelled and turned his head... only to see the runner watch the pair with a blank expression and then burst out laughing.

"This isn't funny!" Keima exclaimed, his mind already going fuzzy. "Please, Ayumi I beg you... do something!"

"No" she told him flatly, struggling to stay on her feet. "You deserved this... And maybe it's not funny for you, but it is for me! This is great!"

Keima opened his mouth to speak, but realized it was pointless. Ayumi had already helped him today and he owed her. What had he been expecting? Great... just great.

And then finally Ayumi took pity on him. "C'mon Yui, that's enough" she grabbed her friend and, with some effort, pulled her off of Keima.

"Five more minutes!" Yui pleaded as if she had been denied a cookie.

"Nope!" Ayumi replied with a no-nonsense look on her face.

Keima sighed in relief. Ayumi was a lifesaver after all. Even though he owed her twice now.

(* * *)

"So you're telling us to talk with other, how did you call us, goddess _hosts_ " Ayumi said in a voice that made Keima flinch a little. He should've worded it... differently. "And learn things on our own and you will just stand aside, is that it?"

"No" Keima responded. "You just consult with each other before asking me. It's just too inefficient to explain every little thing six times."

"So you'll have more time to play your games?" Ayumi asked with an accusing glare.

"I can't exactly deny that" Keima admitted.

"If you don't want to explain everything many times then why not just talk with all of us at once?" Yui asked innocently.

"Forget about it" Keima replied. "I'm not going in between twelve women and goddesses?"

"And why not?" Ayumi asked.

Keima leaned closed to her and whispered, so Yui wouldn't hear it. "Why? Because half of the goddesses are as difficult to deal with as Yui, especially when they're together. It's like me dealing with four Yuis and eight more women at the same time. Can you imagine the chaos? Are you sure you'd be able to save me from something like that?"

"You have a point there" Ayumi admitted and then shot him a dirty look. "Not that I would help you in such situation. You rip what you sow."

Keima didn't bother answering.

The three of them were currently sitting on a bench. Keima was on the right and Ayumi was next to him, separating him from Yui, who was sitting on the other side of the bench.

"I think this is a great idea, Keima-kun" Yui spoke with her usual smile, obviously trying to sweet talk him. Still, it was a huge progress compared to her physical attacks.

"And you, don't forget our deal" Keima pointed at Yui. "No touching, surprise attacks and public proclamations of love or else-"

"Don't worry, I understood" Yui replied and then stood up. "But that won't stop me, Keima-kun. I will make you mine!" calm down, calm down... as long as she doesn't get close you can endure this, Keima thought. "Then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. See you Ayumi, Keima-kun" Yui winked at him one last time before leaving.

Keima leaned back on the bench. "At last... By the way, thank you for coming up with this idea" he told Ayumi, referring to her plan to stop Yui's aggressive advances. He didn't know where did Ayumi got this idea and why did she help him, but he didn't care. He just hoped it would work.

"No problem" she replied, not looking at him and then she attempted to stand up. "Well, I'll be going as well, jus-"

"Wait."

Ayumi stopped and turned around, a typical confused-innocent-girl expression on her face. "What?" she asked.

"You wanted an explanation, right?" Keima told her while pulling out his PFP. He couldn't stop himself. He needed his games. Ugh, how many times have he thought that particular sentence today? "If you want one you should stay."

Ayumi remained silent for a moment, obviously trying to process his words.

"Wait" she finally responded. "Didn't you just say we should not ask you for now?"

"Yeah" he replied, already clicking through his game. "But that goes for the other girls. You're a special case" he stopped to look at her. "I _did_ promise I will answer your questions later, didn't I?"

Ayumi was dumbfounded. He was referring to their "wedding" on Akanemaru. "Y-you mean you remembered?"

"Why would I forget that?" he was looking almost offended. "Never mind, just ask away. But be warned – I won't be able to answer all of your questions, as there is a lot of unrelated stuff and... yeah" he all but stammered.

Shit, that was so lame... Completely unlike him. The unrelated stuff wasn't really much and he was running out of reasons to keep some things secret. Was he really afraid? No, there was just a lot of stuff and he didn't want to get involved in pointless conversations. Minimizing the time spent in the real world. Conservation of energy. Optimization. Yeah, that was the real reason.

It was all Shiori's fault anyway...

"So what do you want to know?" he asked.

For a second or two Ayumi looked at him as if he wasn't there. Then she started to study him. Really closely. Something that was unusual for a simple-minded Ayumi. Her gaze made him self-conscious. Well, almost. After all a real girl couldn't do this to him – he was still a dweller of the 2D.

And finally she asked the first question.

"Why did you stop playing games in Nikaidō-sensei's class?"

It was Keima's turn to look at her blankly. He certainly didn't expect that.

But he did keep his cool.

"It's my choice" he replied, back to gaming. "Let's stay on questions related to the... whole thing."

"Alright" Ayumi agreed. "Then next question" her eyes were boring into him. "Is Nikaidō-sensei related to the whole thing?"

Keima matched her intense gaze, not hiding his annoyance. When did she become so sharp? No... that wasn't the first time she had shown this strange cleverness. Could he somehow weasel out of this one? Probably not.

"Yes..." he admitted grudgingly.

Ayumi's expression turned from demanding into that of surprise. "Eh?" so she was bluffing just like he thought. "Sensei is involved? And you managed to hide it the entire time?"

"I bet you're not even aware how long 'the entire time' is and besides" he focused his gaze on his console. "I wasn't aware of this myself till not so long ago. The same way I wasn't aware of the old man Shiratori or Tenri's letters."

"Letters? As in more than one?" Ayumi asked.

Crap.

"Yes, there was another one, but it was private, for Tenri's eyes only."

"Okay, back up, about Nikaidō-sen-"

"That's her private affairs, so if you want to know about it just ask her yourself."

"Since when do you care about personal affairs of other people?"

"You've seen how violent Nikaidō can get. Who knows what she'll do to me if I spill her secrets. I'm not risking my life just for your curiosity and that's final."

Ayumi huffed in annoyance, but overall she was looking a little placated, pleased with herself even.

"So who else I know is involved in this?" stay calm, don't react, don't flinch. "It's not Miyako, is she?"

Keima groaned.

"As hell she is! Remember when she walked with us to the Inazumart?" Keima asked and waited until he saw recognition in Ayumi's eyes. "Gods! Back then Kanon had a few days to live, I was under pressure to bring out the goddesses and she walks with us and freaking asks, in your presence, whether me and Kanon are dating!"

"Oooh... now it makes sense" Ayumi said as if she was talking to herself.

Was there a hope that was the last problematic question?

"So why did you go on a date with Chihiro during the festival?"

Guess not...

"I told you already that I like her, didn't I?"

"Yeah..." Ayumi replied. "But I don't see you going out with her."

"She's angry at the moment. I told you that today too" he replied with exasperation.

"Maybe, but I can't stop thinking that you had another reason" was this even Ayumi? Maybe it was Haqua in disguise? That made an awful lot of sense... And would probably be preferable to Ayumi turning out to be that smart. "And you haven't answered the question!" she reminded him. "You were searching for a goddess _hosts_ , trying to make them fall in love with you and you went on a date with Chihiro. Even if you liked her that doesn't make sense!"

Ayumi stopped and Keima waited patiently, curious what conclusion the girl will reach.

"Unless..." she started. "Unless you thought she was hosting a goddess! Were there more than six of those?"

"There are probably more females from Heaven somewhere, but no, there is only six goddesses involved in this whole thing."

"So why did you go after her?" Ayumi asked, her brows furrowed. Her conclusions were surprisingly on-spot, but it was obvious that making them weren't her strong suit.

"Is that a question?"

"No... it's a pink unicorn" she shot back, but grinned when she saw him sigh.

"She showed signs of having a goddess inside her, but she didn't have one after all. I only realized it a the very last... moment."

"What signs?"

Keima was pretending to play his games, while he just randomly mashed the buttons. Should he lie? Ayumi was able to see through his lies before... he didn't want to risk her wrath... was this route leading nowhere but towards a bad end (for him)?

"She was having feelings for me..." he admitted.

"I knew it!" Ayumi exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You're talking about the girls you _exorcised_ " she practically spat the word. "So there were other girls you've kissed beside the six of us?"

"Yes" Keima admitted. "But I didn't kiss every single one of them" he didn't know why he said the last part. It wasn't like he was explaining himself. I mean, what would be the point of that?

"You kissed them and then what? Rejected them? That would be harsh even for someone like you."

"For your information" he stood up, his anger growing and he didn't know why. "The girls I _conquered_ shouldn't remember the conquest. That's how Hell operates. Only much later I learn that goddesses don't lose their memories and can complete the memories of their hosts, assuming the goddess has enough power" Ayumi was about to say something, but Keima was on the roll. "And no, I didn't enjoy making real girls fall for me only to forget about me! I was forced. At the beginning I didn't even give a damn about those girls!" he told her, fully aware Ayumi knew she was his first conquest.

Ayumi either didn't notice or didn't care.

"You were... forced?"

"Yes!" Keima grabbed his neck. "There was a black collar on my neck from the moment I signed the contract. It would kill me if I failed to do my part of the contract..." he paused when he realized something. "You couldn't see this collar, right?"

Ayumi nodded.

"Seem you can't see it unless your a devil, a goddess or a human bound by a contract."

"So... you made a contract with an actual devil?"

"Technically yes, but it was a good devil" Keima rubbed his temple, still on his feet. He was bound to end with a headache.

Ayumi, on the other hand was still sitting on the bench. She seemed to ponder something for a moment... and then she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back looking as if she was... waiting.

"What are you doing?" he asked her. Couldn't real girls make sense for once? Was he asking too much?

"I'm waiting" she explained.

"For what?"

"For you to talk."

"Then ask the question" he told her, trying not to sound too exasperated.

"No."

"Huh?"

"I said no."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Keima asked, confused. "You ask questions and I answer. That's the way it works!"

"I'm done with that way" Ayumi replied, looking to the side. "I won't ask anymore. From now on I'll just listen."

"Listen? To what?"

"To what you'll say to me. To the parts of the story you're going to tell me. To what you _want_ to tell me, instead of me forcing you" she told him. "So... is there anything you _want_ to tell me?"

Keima didn't answer, in his mind there were several chibi Keimas, sitting at some round table and looking at each other expectantly. What was he supposed to do with this development? Why did Ayumi do it? Was she trying to force him to tell her too much... or was she offering to listen to his... his what? Rants? Complaints?

He looked at her determined expression and his flawless mind reminded him where had he seen it before.

Shiori.

He gritted his teeth.

Ayumi waited for a longer while, something unusual for a famous Mai High Unguided Missile, but she finally sighed.

"I guess there isn't. At least not know" she stood up. "I'll be going home then. My parents have become a little more strict with me..." she narrowed her eyes at him. "It's your fault by the way."

"I'm... sorry?" he heard himself speak, though he didn't remember ordering his mouth to open.

"You better be!" she turned over her shoulder one more time. "Just let me know if you decide you want to tell me something. See ya!" five seconds later she was already out of the school grounds.

And minute later Keima was still standing on the same spot.

(* * *)

He returned to his home much later with two bags full of games. He entered the Café Grandpa, expecting his mother to scold him, but the lights were out and Mari was nowhere in sight. Soon he spotted a piece of paper. He picked it up. So his mother was out shopping, nothing out of ordinary. But where was Eri?

"Nii-sama!" a sing-song voice. Keima slowly turned around and at the same moment the lights were turned on.

Keima saw his twin sister standing in the middle of the room smiling softly at him.

"How was your day, nii-sama? Are you tired? Or hungry?"

"Huh?" he asked. Something was... off. And why did she ask... He looked behind her and only then noticed what was on the table.

"Um... Mother prepared a dinner for me?"

"No" Eri answered, looking as if she was waiting ages for him to ask that. And that could be meant literally. "I did it."

Keima looked at her with wide eyes and then approached the table. Curry? He could understand that. It was a "curse" after all. But miso soup?

"The ingredients used by humans are a little strange" Eri appeared in his vision again. "But I'm pretty sure I followed the instructions well enough! What do you think nii-sama?"

Keima slowly took a seat with Eri sitting on the other side. He briefly glanced over the table, half expecting to see lit candles... but no.

"What's the meaning of this?" he asked. "Weren't you angry with me?"

"Not really" Eri replied. "I know I'm almost useless."

"So why weren't you speaking with me?"

"Well... I guessed you would try to talk with Chihiro-san, Ayumi-san and the others... and I figured I won't be much help, so I decided to not get in you way."

"That's surprisingly insightful of you" Keima remarked, checking if she'll get angry. She didn't.

"So what's with this?" he pointed at the table.

"Oh this" Eri beamed. "I just figured you'd be tired after dealing with... things... and I should play my role of being your real sister!"

"And how do I know this is edible? It certainly brings our last meal to mind" he said referring to the dinner in the other dimension. Or wherever that was.

"I didn't use any ingredients from Hell, because I didn't have any. And everything humans use is already dead! Besides, you won't know till you try. I put a lot of effort into this!"

"In other words" Keima said, grabbing his spoon. "I'm your guinea pig, right?"

"You could say that."

Keima looked back at the curry and noticed that the sauce was arranged to resemble something. Keima shook his head. Eri and her firetruck obsession.

He took a bite.

"Not bad" he said. True, Eri was inexperienced with human cuisine, but Keima wasn't a gourmet and the food seemed normal. He wasn't yet sure that he won't spend a few hours in a bathroom... but it was unlikely.

Maybe Eri was finally becoming useful. Come to think of it, Eri could clean and cook pretty well. She could be pretty annoying and incompetent at times, but overall she was really cheerful and friendly, in common human opinion anyway. Keima realized Eri could be a pretty decent wife in the future... He chuckled. If he were an only child then his mother would pester him about marriage, but with Eri around...

"What's so funny?" Eri asked frowning.

"Oh it's nothing" Keima replied. "I just glad to have you as my sister."

At this Eri sweatdropped.

"Well, anyway. I'm glad you feel better, nii-sama" she told him.

"Feel better?" Keima asked.

"You know, you've been looking kind of down... and lost the last few days" Keima's spoon stopped half between the plate and his mouth. "I know you have troubled getting used to this new situation."

Keima continued to look at her questioningly and Eri fidgeted a little. "I mean I'm happy you're getting better in the real world. I'm sure everyone's happy to see that."

What? No, no, no... Shiori, Ayumi and now Eri? I mean, she would probably be the first to mention that, but it was getting... crowded. Was she saying it on her own... or did the girls communicate behind his back? No, not possible.

Eri just smiled at him and started to eat as well and they continued the meal in silence.

Keima decided. He might sleep through all classes tomorrow, but he didn't care. He was going to spend the entire night playing games. He needed it.

 **(* * *)**

 **Okay, so we have more meetings with goddess hosts (who have varied knowledge of personal space) and Eri preparing something edible. As for Yui, I'm not very fond of her as a heroine in general... but her direct attacks are always fun to write (and I hope to read as well).**

 **As always you're free to drop me a review, they really keep me going!**

 **See you next time!**


	6. Flag 06: Dynamic entry

**Hello, I'm back, as promised, with the next chapter, even though it's the shortest so far (except the foreword and prologue).  
**

 **As always I would like to thank you for all your reviews and suggestions!**

 **Let's not postpone any longer, onto the chapter!**

 **(* * *)**

The next few days were surprisingly uneventful and Keima didn't really have to deal with anything more than his mother, Eri and mellowed version of Yui. Ayumi didn't speak to him except for "good morning" and Chihiro was more or less the same, though both of them were tossing him furtive glances for their own reasons. Keima didn't see Tsukiyo again and he was sure she had been actively avoiding him, which wasn't difficult at all. Similarly Keima had been avoiding Shiori, once again easy enough as long as he steered clear of the library. Kanon was absent as per usual and Keima was beginning to worry. Was it a sign she had simply given up and moved on? Or should he expect her to appear out of nowhere every second now?

Well, at least that took care of every goddess host for now and he didn't even have to deal with their goddesses. He wondered how long it would last.

Wait, not every goddess host. There was still Tenri. And Diana.

Scratch Ayumi or Shiori. He still could keep them in the dark. But Tenri knew more than them. Of course she didn't know even half of the entire story, but she was aware of Dokurō and the old man Shiratori. She was aware of some of his conquests. And she has been kept in dark for ten years.

She deserved this even more than Ayumi did... But deserved what? An explanation? She already knew a lot. What else was he supposed to do? What should he say? How should he act? This was probably why he was more than a little afraid to go talk to her. He won't admit his apprehension towards Ayumi, Shiori and Yui... but he had to admit he feared meeting with Tenri.

Ironic though, he pondered as he conquered another game heroine during the break between classes. Tenri had been one of his more gentle, forgiving, useful and obedient allies. This was why she was so easily used. In truth, he didn't fear her, he feared what he had done to her. He turned the game off.

He truly was the worst.

"Meiru da yo!" he was brought out of his reverie and looked at the new icon on his PFP screen. Sure enough he had got a new e-mail. Nothing out of ordinary. Except for this little feeling of dread washing over him. He read the message and was immediately proven correct.

 _Keima-kun,_

 _be on the rooftop during midday break or there will be punishment._

 _Love,_

 _Kanon_

Keima stared at the screen for a few seconds, not entirely sure what to make out of this simple message. What did she mean "Love Kanon?" Did she mean the song title? Was it a regular closing line she always used with her friends (how many of those does she have anyway)? Or was it a proclamation of love?

Well, he didn't know about love and rewards, but he sure could guess what sort of thing she used for punishments...

During the break he ventured to the rooftop. He just hoped there won't be any commotion because of this. Hold on a second... if he could _accidentally_ spread the word of Kanon coming to school, then she would get swarmed by her fans and he would be free... for those few hours that would take Kanon and her twin tasers to track him, find him and fry him.

Nope, not worth the risk.

He opened the door and entered the rooftop. There was nobody here except him. No students and no Kanon.

And no sounds beside the whistle of the cool wind and the barely audible noise of rotor blades.

Huh, rotor blades?

Keima looked up and, sure enough, he could see a helicopter approaching the school. Was Kanon planning to lower a ladder for him to grab or what? He was brought out of his musings when he noticed something. The helicopter was still at least a hundred meters above the school, but close enough to be impossible to overlook when... someone jumped out of it.

Keima's eyes widened and a second later a pink parachute opened. He followed the descending female figure and watched it land close to him, detach the parachute, tidy herself up and then speak.

"Hello, Keima-kun!"

He didn't immediately answer, observing her instead. If he were to enter the rooftop right now he would be able to recognize Kanon, but only because of his superior perception and because he had been expecting her. Other than that she seemed to conceal her identity rather well. Her pink hair was hidden using the most boring wig Keima had ever seen and her glasses were replaced with a different nerdy-looking ones. And of course she was wearing her school uniform.

"Keima-kun?" her voice brought him back to reality.

"What kind of entrance was that?" he asked, trying to not sound _too_ surly.

"Oh, that" she replied, smiling sheepishly. "I figured it was the best way to enter the school stealthily."

"You call that stealthily?" Keima had to hand it over to her. On the absurds-of-the-real scale Kanon would be placed quite high, next to Chihiro and Eri.

"So? What did you want?" he asked, his prediction of the future convincing him to keep his PFP in his pocket. "Let me guess, you want an explanation about the things that happened during the last two weeks" he continued. "If that's all you want then I'm afraid it won't be so easy."

Then he went on a rant, explaining to Kanon the "deal" he'd made with the other goddess hosts, while the pink-haired (currently brown-haired) girl stood before him, looking at him blankly... only to giggle at some point.

Keima paused, hand pointing upwards in an involuntary gesture, and narrowed his eyes.

"What's so funny?"

"It's nothing" Kanon replied, but Keima waited, certain she would elaborate. And he was right. "It's just that Keima-kun is Keima-kun."

That was extremely vague, but he somehow understood she meant one of those "you never change" things.

"Anyway" Keima said, ignoring her remark. "This is how things are, so you should consult others first before asking me."

"Well" Kanon replied, suddenly looking troubled. "It's true I wanted to learn some things... but what I want to know the most right now is something others probably won't know."

"Like what?"

"I mean... I was stabbed, right? Some magical stuff, right?" Keima nodded. If he was honest with himself he was surprised she didn't ask about it before. The other hosts were played with and kidnapped, but Kanon was gravely injured. Now, couldn't she just ask Apollo about it? Or was the goofy goddess so unreliable?

"Yes, you were. Apollo and the other goddesses helped you recover."

"I know that" Kanon was now fidgeting with her hands. "What I want to know is... I was in a coma... I mean for several days, right?"

Keima remained silent, already guessing where this was going.

"But... but my popularity barely changed. I mean, no-one seemed to notice my disappearance. Okada-san didn't notice as well..." Kanon told him quietly and the raised her head to look at him. "I mean how can you make an idol like me disappear for a week and not cancel even one event!? That's impossible!"

Keima sighed. So he was right yet again...

"You said it yourself" he replied. "Devils and goddesses were involved. I asked them to help and they used some of their magic..."

"You mean like make people forget... or some kind of illusion?"

Keima thought about it for a moment. Was a memory alteration involved? He didn't have a clue.

"I don't know about people forgetting" he met Kanon's gaze with his. "But there was some kind of illusion. Namely, we made one devil substitute for you during that time."

Kanon was silent for a moment. "If that's true then I would like to thank that devil, but that's impossible, right?" then her gaze hardened. "And I don't really believe that someone could impersonate me, even with an illusion!"

"I found it hard to believe to, but we had a devil on our hands that did your job pretty decently. Songs and the like including. And there's no need for a thank you" Keima paused for a moment. ". Actually, I think _you_ should be thanked instead."

"Huh?"

"The devil in question is a hardcore fan of you" he explained.

"A devil... is my fan?" Kanon repeated with foggy eyes, clearly overwhelmed with the information and Keima fought down the urge to roll his eyes. This couldn't possibly get more ironic.

"Nii-sama!"

He stood corrected.

Eri emerged from the entrance and then quickly approached Keima, calling him once again with that sweet, but high-pitched voice of hers.

"Nii-sama!"

"What is it?" Keima asked, for once happy for her interference.

"I have something to discuss, but before that, here! I brought you a bentō, nii-sama!"

Keima eyed the lunchbox she presented him and hesitantly took it from her hands. He heard Kanon chuckle behind his back.

"Or maybe you _do_ change, Keima-kun!" after hearing this Keima's cheeks became the faintest tint of red, but Kanon's victory was short-lived, when Eri turned to her with surprised look on her face.

"You know nii-sama?" Eri asked, confused. "Who are you?"

"Umm" Kanon mumbled, but when she was thinking of some excuse Eri had enough time to look closely at her.

And then her eyes widened.

"Kanon-chan?"

The idol girl tried not to react, but she kind of failed.

"It's Kanon-chan! Kanon-chan came to school!" Eri shouted and Kanon immediately flinched. She glanced at Keima and he looked back as if saying "don't ignore her unless you want the entire school to know you're here."

By now Eri was already in panic mode, flailing her arms around. "Something to write on! Something to write on!"

Keima hold the backside of his PFP to his sister and she grabbed it without hesitation. That was probably the optimal route. Eri would get her autograph, Kanon would be placated by signing his PFP and he would just pull out another console to play. And if she signed only the back of the console there would be no actual damage.

"Kanon-chan, can I get your autograph?!" Eri pleaded with her best innocent-girl expression which apparently worked on other girls as well.

"S-sure" Kanon replied, switching into her idol-mode. "Just don't tell anyone I'm at school."

"You got it!"

"I'll be going then" Keima replied, heading for the roof entrance. If only Kanon knew that it was Eri who substituted for her... that would be... interesting.

He walked down the stairs and walked in the direction of his classroom. He was just about to enter when he almost collided with Chihiro.

"Ka-Katsuragi?" the brown-haired girl asked as if he wasn't supposed to be here, reminding him on that strange "all-girls school" dream he had once.

He raised his eyebrow at her. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not really" she replied, looking sideways, her cheeks slightly pink. "Have you seen Eri?"

"Yes, but she's busy right now... I mean that's one of those rare times you really shouldn't disturb her."

"I see. Anyway, can you give it to her?" she handed him a school newspaper.

"Don't ask me" Chihiro said seeing Keima's questioning gaze. "Eri wanted to read it before" and with this Chihiro walked past him.

Keima glanced at the newspaper. He could understand Chihiro – it was common to see her with some sort of girly magazine – but Eri? Since when had she been interested in such things? He browsed through the newspaper, looking for any sight of the word "firetruck", but there were none. There was one article about Kanon having a boyfriend, but thanks to the Hell's memory modification it was nothing more than baseless rumors and insinuations. Aside from that it was pretty boring, at least to him: some fashion trends, ideas for November outings, dating tips (Keima's eyebrow twitched at that) and something about the yesterday inter school swimming competition that his school apparently lost.

Was Eri that obsessed with Kanon? Keima ignored it and walked to his desk, putting the newspaper in his backpack and noticing the bentō Eri had given to him. He sighed, pulled it out and ate it quickly. Eri did help to distract Kanon and the food was not bad at all. After he was done he wasted no more time and turned on another game. He needed to play as much as he could before Nikaidō's class started.

He got so immersed in his game that he barely noticed the bell ringing, but he didn't stop. Nikaidō was not here yet. Every second he could get his precious oxygen mattered! And he continued to play until he heard a voice to his right.

"Shouldn't Nikaidō-sensei be here already?"

He blinked in confusion and turned right to the boy who was sitting in front of Kanon's, obviously, empty desk. He looked at the clock and then turned to the front of the class. No Nikaidō.

It's not like she was always exactly on time, but it was highly unusual for her to be late. He looked to the left and noticed that Chihiro and Ayumi held puzzled expressions as well. Ayumi shot him a questioning glance and Keima just shrugged. Maybe he shouldn't have told her about Nikaidō. No, not thinking about that, returning to the games!

But ten minutes later it became rather obvious that Nikaidō wasn't going to come, as another teacher hastily replaced her without giving them any explanation.

Did Nikaidō really quit teaching? He had no right to judge her or anything... but if that was the case then the other teachers would know, right? Was she just sick? Or was it that injury she claimed would "heal in no time?"

After the class finally ended Keima immediately stood up. He had thought about snooping around the staff room, but he decided against it. It's not like he had magic means on his side any longer, he thought as he looked at Eri, who was heading to her club practice with Ayumi, Chihiro and Miyako.

The strangest thing, he thought while walking home, was that he had no way of contacting Nikaidō, except through the school or Jun Nagase. Hmm... maybe his mother actually had some contact information? It wasn't unlikely at best though – after all Nikaidō's original goal was to keep a distance from him.

"Ah!"

He stopped and looked up. He didn't even realize he was already close to his home. The encounter with the person standing before him was probably pure accident, but at this point he almost expected it.

"Tenri."

(* * *)

 **So... originally it was supposed to be two goddess hosts per chapter, but I found a good place for a cliffhanger, so I did it.**

 **The title of the chapter is a reference to Naruto once again. I think it fits Kanon's idea of "stealthy entrance"...**

 **...and as for Kanon. It's not that I don't like her. In fact, I'm very fond of her innocent pure-hearted personality (for example, when Apollo first appears and teases her about Keima)... I just tend to forget about her sometimes (which would be difficult with Yui, who is loud and rebellious, even though I don't like her as much as Kanon). The fact that Kanon is supposed to rarely go to school isn't helping either. So sorry, if her scene here doesn't do her justice.**

 **As a side note – the chapters for Flags 7 to 14 are (more or less) done, so you won't have to worry about frequency of the chapters for a while. Next one will be posted in two days from now (Thursday) and it'll be the most exciting one so far.**


	7. Flag 07: The other point of view

**Hello, I'm back with another chapter.**

 **To begin with, I would like to address two "technical" issues. One, I would like to thank ZelgadisGW (you can check both his deviantart and fanfiction net accounts) for making a PFP icon for my story, I appreciate it very much :)**

 **And two, for the last couple of days I noticed that fanfiction net have been experiencing some problems... I mean more than usual. At one point it reported no fanfictions for both The World God Only Knows and Naruto (and probably everything else). Other time it showed fanfictions, but not the latest ones (I think) and filtering was reporting zero "English T-rated" fics, while they were obviously there when viewing unfiltered list of fanfictions...**

 **...and at the same time reviews has dropped to almost zero for the last chapter (except Shawn Raven, thanks for that :) ). I hope this is because the site was down and not because the last chapter was bad.  
**

 **Anyway, as promised, this chapter is a bit more interesting than the others, so enjoy!**

 **(* * *)**

"G-good day, K-Keima-kun..." Tenri Ayukawa said in her usual manner: quiet, hesitant and stuttering, but audible enough and Keima remained silent for a moment to observe her.

She looked pretty much normal. The same high school uniform, the same gentle disposition and still the same dark hair with a tint of blue, refuting his only-one-hair-color theory, though not as much as Haqua or Kanon did. Her eyes were a similar hue of blue and didn't look as if Tenri had been crying. At least not lately.

Tenri apparently got nervous with his staring, because she looked away.

"Um..." she started. "It's g-good to see you back to normal..." she said, looking at his PFP. "W-well, not exactly normal, I guess..." she added after a moment, as if she knew about his recent problems.

Keima didn't answer immediately. He didn't want to be cold and he never was good at not being cold. What would be the best route? He decided on a direct and simple approach.

"Do you want to talk?" he started. "About all the... stuff?"

"And do you, Keima-kun?"

He didn't need to think about that one. "Yes" he answered and then started walking past her. "Come with me, if we go to my room we won't be disturbed."

Tenri followed him to his doorstep.

"Wait here for a moment" Keima told her and then scouted ahead. It seemed like his mother was busy at the café and both teens managed to sneak upstairs and to his room.

"One more thing" Keima told Tenri when she was seated on his bed. He opened his window, so that Tenri's reflection was clearly visible in the glass. Not a second later the reflection changed, Tenri's eyes narrowing and changing color to red.

"Diana."

"Katsuragi."

Keima looked at Diana the same way he had used to assess Tenri's state. Diana didn't look any different than before, her wings and halo in place. Actually, so far she didn't punch him or call him a womanizing pervert. This was either a rather good or a very bad sign.

"It's good to know you're alright" he said, sitting on his chair, hoping that he'd put enough distance between them.

"You call this alright?" Diana rebuked him. "Do you have any idea what Tenri has been through!?"

"Diana" Tenri said quietly. "It's fine... you said it yourself that we still-"

"Don't say it!" Diana hushed her, eying Keima nervously. "Anyway, just so you know, I still think you're a creepy, sly perverted man!"

The "I'm mad at you" argument didn't affect him much. Not after Chihiro and Ayumi anyway.

"You know well enough I didn't have much choice and Tenri knew about it, I didn't lie to her..." Keima responded. "And no need to thank me for saving the world and heaven."

"It's not like you didn't get help" Diana looked away. "But I guess you did save the world, so I believe a 'thank you' is in order" she glanced back at him. "Even if you did it with... questionable methods."

"Sorry for using questionable methods" Keima responded. "And you're right. I don't really know what Tenri's been through" he sat up. "Which is precisely what I wanted to talk about."

With all the other hosts it was them asking him questions, but with Tenri it will be the other way around.

"Nikaidō told me you, her and the old man Shiratori have been working together" he started. "And you actually managed to make fool out of me. And not just me" he tossed a quick glance at Diana, who closed her eyes in embarrassment.

"I-I just did what you've written in the l-letter, Keima-kun."

"But that's not all. There were some things I didn't write you about" he told her. "I did write about Diana, but not with every detail. You didn't know how we would... get rid of Nora. And you didn't know about Nanaka, right?"

Tenri nodded, blushing profusely.

"And I don't know exactly what you did and how much you know. Nikaidō mentioned that you were teaching her as well."

"W-well... at first I didn't do much. I-I mean, I did what you said during the summer c-camp and I met with Diana. After that you've moved away. At this time Do-chan was already gone, luring the V-Vintage away from us. I couldn't really move on my own... my parents-"

"Were overprotective" Keima finished for her. "But Do-chan? I see the two of you got pretty close."

Once again Tenri nodded before continuing. "I couldn't go visit him, b-but Shiratori-ojisan got involved with our elementary school."

At this Keima blinked. "What do you mean?"

"H-he helped the school and used this as an excuse to come to school from time to time... as a senior c-citizen, but his real goal was to k-keep an eye on you and me. And sometimes he talked to me..."

"The old man coming to our school?" Keima asked. "I don't remember this."

"What a surprise..." Diana remarked sarcastically, making Keima glare and Tenri giggle.

"After that Do-chan have returned and Shiratori-ojisan took care of her" she told him. "S-she was living at their mansion."

"With Urara?" Keima asked and then realized something. "Wait... do you even know who Urara is?"

"I remember her from school, b-but we haven't really talked with each other" this sounded familiar to Keima. "Do-chan and Shiratori-ojisan told me about you and her" Keima looked away. He wondered how much of Urara's "conquest" Nikaidō told Tenri. And how much of that conquest Nikaidō knew in the first place. "But Do-chan lived in different part of the mansion and Yanagi-san was helping her."

"And Urara and Nikaidō have never met?" Keima asked, only to see Tenri nod. It wasn't that strange taking the size of Shiratori household. "Go on."

"U-um... I think Do-chan was studying at home at first, but then she went to the Maijima Junior High School..."

"I see..." studying at his school, being in the basketball club with Jun. It made sense. "And she decided to become a teacher?"

"I-I think it was Shiratori-ojisan's idea to help her protect you. He just planned to sneak her into whatever school you were going to attend, Keima-kun... He also helped Eri-chan transfer to you class..." right there Tenri paused for a moment, for the first time looking confused. "But... I don't know why..."

At this Keima hid his face in his hands. Eri and her ability to change messy reality into an even bigger mess.

"Alright, let's put it aside for now... what about the other goddesses?"

"Do-chan and Shiratori-ojisan kept an eye on them, I didn't really do anything."

Keima remained silent for a few seconds. "And what about the other... girls" he asked slowly, not missing Diana's glare.

"U-um... you didn't write much about it in the letter..."

"Yes, the idea was to stop you from getting too involved and changing the timeline to much."

"Y-yes, we didn't know which girls to expect, but Do-chan and Yanagi-san were keeping track of you, so they l-learned about them."

"And the old man Shiratori?"

"H-he sent Urara overseas and started designing the plan and technology to p-protect the goddesses while you were doing things in the past."

Keima nodded for the umpteenth time. It wasn't surprising. When he had been writing the letter he had been using the orb for reference, writing only things that didn't make the orb shine. Which meant nobody back then knew about the other girls like Mio, Minami or even Chihiro. Was it a pure accident they had become the victims of the runaway spirits? They will probably never know.

"Then finally the ten years were about to pass and Y-Yanagi-san informed me that the house next to you was d-damaged..." Tenri paused for a moment. "Then I... showed that house to mom and dad and p-persuaded them to move."

"And your parents went along with it?"

"W-well... Shiratori-ojisan paid the house owners to lower the price so..."

"And you managed to hide this all from Diana?"

"Apparently yes" the goddess in question replied, eying her host with a mixture of offense, awe and pride. "After all Tenri insisted on privacy and I didn't suspect anything."

"And then you noticed you were being targeted and told Diana about me?" Tenri nodded. "And then Nora appeared?" Another nod.

"Well, I think I know the rest... I guess now it's my turn." Keima said, his face turning serious and sad all of a sudden. "Tenri... I'm s-"

"You don't have to apologize Keima-kun..." Tenri interrupted him with a small sad smile. "I agreed to this and nothing of this was your fault, Keima-kun."

Keima had a very different opinion, but something told him no to argue. Tenri seemed to be taking it a lot better than he thought she would. If he was honest with himself she was taking this new situation better then he was.

He sighed and leaned back. "Alright then. Is there anything more you would like to know?"

Diana made a strange face, as if she was restraining herself from speaking for Tenri's sake. Her host seemed lost in deep thought, but Keima was patient, he had all the time in the world.

Knock, knock. Both Diana and Tenri looked at the door.

"Nii-sama!"

Or at least he thought he had.

He stood up and opened the door. "What is it?"

"Nii-sama, I need to talk to you, back at schoo-" Eri barged into his room, but stopped when she noticed who else was inside.

"Tenri-chan?"

"Um... hello Eri..."

"Hey, I'm here too!" Diana said from the window.

"We're _busy_ Eri" Keima said before he realized that sounded a little too suggestive, especially for someone like Eri. "I've eaten your bentō, it was good. What else do you want?"

"It's serious nii-sama!" Eri said, flailing her arms for emphasis. "I think something strange is happening!"

"Like what?"

"You remember I met Kanon-chan today?" Eri asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "She promised she would visit me at our club practice, but she didn't come!"

Keima tried all his best not to yell at her. "With your annoying behavior I'm not surprised she ditched you."

"It's not funny, nii-sama!" Eri was almost yelling herself. "It's not just Kanon-chan! Nikaidō-sensei didn't come to her class too!"

At this Keima stopped in his tracks. Kanon and Nikaidō... was Eri implying some sort of connection between those two events?

"And that's not all! Yui-san didn't come to the club practice as well, even though I've seen her during the break!"

"Wait... are you saying the goddesses hosts and Nikaidō disappeared?" Keima felt a cold shiver travel down his spine. He remembered this situation all too well. But two winged goddesses and Dokurō? What could have happened to them?

"Now that I think about it, it's not just goddesses!" Eri told him. "I've seen an article in the school newspaper! I thought it was just something interesting back then-"

"Our school newspaper? The one Chihiro was reading?" Eri seemed surprised. "You know about this, nii-sama?" Keima then walked to his backpack and retrieved the newspaper.

"Which article was it?"

Eri flipped some pages until she found what she was looking for. It was the article about the swimming competition.

Keima hoped she didn't mean what he thought she meant.

"Here, nii-sama!" she said, showing him one particular paragraph and he started reading.

 _The female swimming team of the Maijima Private Junior High School wasn't the favorite of the competition, but it did remarkably well. The commentators unanimously concluded that the main reason for the second place of the team was due to one of the swimmers being absent at the competition, forcing a sub and resulting in poor performance at breaststroke and freestyle. The team's coach offered no comment._

"Nii-sama!" Eri pointed at another part. The team roster. The name under breaststroke and freestyle for Maijima Junior High was none other than Minami Ikoma.

"Minami has gone missing as well?" Keima said to himself, but if he hoped it would make more sense when said aloud then he was proven wrong. "And this is from yesterday" he noticed.

Keima swallowed. Eri was wrong, it was not just serious. This was beyond serious. He looked up to say something, but then he noticed Tenri and Diana throwing each other worried glances.

"What is it?" he asked, full of bad feelings.

"Um.. I-i didn't think anything of it... but N-Nanaka-san didn't come to school today either..."

"I mailed Ayumi-san before, but she didn't reply" Eri said, her phone by her ear. "And Chihiro-san is not picking up either.

Kanon, Yui, Ayumi, Chihiro, Minami, Nanaka, Nikaidō... even if half of them were just sick it was still a bad route that seemed to go in only one direction. There was no time to lose.

"Tenri, you're going with me and Eri, we can't move by ourselves and let our guards down. Diana, don't come out unless necessary and stay sharp, you're our best weapon now."

Neither of the girls found it necessary to answer.

"Tenri, try to contact the old man Shiratori or Yanagi" Keima whispered as they were going down the stairs. Tenri immediately pulled out her phone.

"What are we going to do now, nii-sama?" Eri asked in a quiet but panicked voice.

"We had to check the other goddesses" Keima replied, grabbing his own phone and dialing Tsukiyo's number, but he wasn't sure what to do next. If the goddesses and Nikaidō were out then they had little reliable allies left. Damn, where was Haqua when he needed her? Checking the other conquest girls would be difficult as well, even those going to Mai High have already left the school grounds. He could try Kusunoki's dōjō, but he would either find her missing or training as normal. He could not accomplish anything by that.

One ring, two rings. Tsukiyo was not picking her phone, but it's possible she's just ignoring him. But then again, wouldn't she simply reject his call in such a case?

It was after the fifth ring when he heard a voice.

"Keima, Eri where are you going?"

All three of them flinched and turned towards the source of the voice. Keima was startled, but then he realized it was just his mother who was standing behind the counter while the three of them were passing through the otherwise empty café.

"Um, nii-sama is going to hang out with his friends, right?" Eri mumbled out, but then cringed under Keima's glare. Couldn't she _think_ before speaking? What kind of excuse was that? Him going out with _his friends_? That kind of line would make his mother jump up in glee or faint.

"Is that so? Then have fun."

See that's exactly what he was-wait, what? He turned around, completing ignoring the sixth or seventh ringing in his phone. Eri, turned as well, puckering her forehead. Even she noticed something was off.

"Mother, are you alright?"

"Yes, of course" Mari replied with a soft smile.

"Mother" Keima said. "What kind of present did I buy you on your birthday?"

Mari Katsuragi didn't reply.

"Forget the questions!" he looked to the side only to see wings sprout from Tenri's back. Diana has taken over. "I can sense the aura of the Hell!"

His mother's face started to twist in a bizarre ways and Keima had enough common sense to grab Eri and hit the floor as the goddess and the devil clashed. He could hear all the sound of various glass, wooden and porcelain stuff break, as their pieces exploded in all directions. Immediately after that something buzzing, rustling and unnatural passed above the two of them, undoubtedly an enemy spell that missed its intended target, but it did hit something, causing an explosion.

Keima cringed and practically crawled, shivering Eri in his arms, until he could feel something solid behind his back. Was it a wall? Or was it the counter, where the two superior beings were fighting right now? His question was answered when the counter exploded a second later not two meters from him. Some dark object was hurled over the room amongst a maelstrom of magical power, strong enough to sweep away everything on its path, changing the orderly arranged chairs and tables into a chaos of wooden planks and sticks of various size.

In the following second of relative silence Keima opened his eyes only to see a pandemonium that even his devil sister and demon mother were unlikely to produce.

By the opposite wall a hooded figure, illusion long dispelled, was trying to get on its feet, but with obvious trouble.

"She's not bad" Keima heard as soon as Diana landed next to him. She seemed mostly unarmed, save for some scratches and the obvious damage to her clothes. "But I've got this!"

If Keima felt relief hearing this words, then it was promptly forgotten, as he heard the sound of a shattering glass. Diana immediately turned, hands outstretched and glowing, but there was no-one to attack. Instead, three cylinder-shaped objects landed on the floor and started to expel a putrid green-looking gas into the air at alarming speeds. Diana's eyes widened in confusion, but Keima already figured it out.

"It's some sort of sleeping gas or something" he told her. "Blow it away."

Diana understood and raised both her hands above her head, only to be slammed from behind by the hooded figure. Keima hoped it was the one from before, but he was proven wrong, when the original impostor quickly joined the fray.

"Diana! Tenri!" was all Keima managed to say before a feeling, similar to the one he felt when Urara's grandfather put him to sleep, finally overtook him.

 **(* * *)**

 **So, things are finally starting to move at a faster pace than before! What will happen to Keima, Eri and the others? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out! :)  
**

 **As for the talk with Tenri I had to assume a lot of things, like whether Tenri was aware of other non-goddess conquest targets or not. The same goes for what Nikaidō was, in general, doing for those past ten years. And this doesn't go just for those two. I generally try to make this subtle web of "who knows what" and "who was doing what", because I'll need it for the setting.  
**

 **I also hope that the "final battle scene" in this chapter turned out as good as I originally thought... not sure about that.**

 **Anyway, reviews are always appreciated! See you next time (Saturday, I think).**


	8. Flag 08: Den of evil

**Hello, I'm back with a new chapter, as promised. As usual we start with a few notes.  
**

 **Perhaps I should be able to say that I'm unaffected by the greatly reduced number of reviews lately (despite the fact that I consider the last chapter the most interesting so far), but I am affected... and the lack of feedback makes it difficult to gauge how my readers feel about the story.**

 **Anyway, about this chapter... it's not exactly the most fast-paced and we once again have some talking... but this chapter should prove interesting as well... in more than one sense.  
**

 **I'm also slowly running out of the chapters ready to post, especially since I had not been able to write for the last few days. Moreover, this chapter has some 5000 words. Thus, the next chapter will be posted in 3 days (meaning Tuesday). Subsequent chapters will be posted in similar (or longer) intervals.**

 **Okay, enough said, onto the chapter!**

 **(* * *)**

Keima slowly regained his consciousness and opened his eyes, but the world around him remained completely black and it took him a few seconds to realize he was lying on his stomach. He rolled over, not without some trouble, and only then his vision cleared a little, but it was still dark and the only thing he could see was a ceiling that looked like a solid rock with some shadows dancing on it. Was he inside a cave?

He sat up and took a look around, realizing he was inside some sort of a recess made of stone, but looking not exactly natural.

What happened? Who attacked them? Was it Vintage? Satyr? Weren't they defeated? Where was he? Where were the others? What about mom? How much time has passed?

The questions were popping up one after another, but the answers eluded him. If it was Satyr and they were smart enough to know him then why was he still alive? If he was just abducted then for what purpose? And why wasn't he tied up and put in some cell? If it weren't for the general feeling of weariness he would be able to just walk away.

Or maybe he wouldn't? He tried to stand up, expecting some sort of magic to stop him, with the pain following, but nothing like that happened. He did stagger a little, but he could move. He carefully walked out of the recess and located the source of the flickering shadows – a strange looking lamp was emitting a green light that reminded him of the sleeping gas from before. If the color didn't betray it's inhuman nature then the fact that it was floating in the air did.

So it was a work of some kind of devil.

What should he do next? He was not a warrior or anything like that. He was a schemer, a route reader and route follower. What could he do alone in the enemy territory with little information?

This was bad... where were the others? Diana, Vulcan, Haqua, Nora, Dokurō. He needed their strength.

Keima didn't allow the fear to overcome him however. He was still alive and he was free. He very much doubted it was a coincidence – did someone plan this out – but never mind that. He was still alive and in a route like that he could only continue to explore.

He noticed that his recess was indeed some kind of cell and he spotted three similar cells nearby. With a bad feeling he approached the first one, but it was empty. Was there no-one else... or were they simply not here anymore? Maybe they were invisible? He entered the next recess and felt around using his hands, but found nothing. No body, no equipment. Nothing here except him and the ominously looking lamp. And then he approached the last cell. And froze.

This cell wasn't empty. Someone was inside, lying on the rocky ground and unmoving. And even in the dim light Keima recognized that person.

Sumire Uemoto, the teenage ramen shop owner and one of his former conquests. So she was kidnapped as well? If that was the case, then where were the others?

"Sumire. Hey, Sumire!" he tried to keep his voice down in case he wasn't alone, but the girl didn't even flinch. He hoped she was just sleeping. He will just go and shake her awake, he thought, but the moment he tried to step into her cell he felt a hit on his face and bounced back, falling and landing on the ground.

He looked back at the cell in confusion and then noticed strange ripples in the air, as if a transparent and flexible, yet solid membrane was separating him the inside of the cell.

Of course – a magical barrier. He'd seen something like that before during Urara's conquest. And back then he couldn't get through without the help of Dokurō.

"Sumire!" he shouted and slammed the barrier in hope she'll at least wake up, but no such luck.

Keima was getting afraid and he was getting desperate. But above all he was slowly getting angry. Did the devils have some score to settle with him? Fine. But getting the others involved? Unforgivable.

He turned around, determined to get to the bottom of this, and walked to the last place he didn't explore – a passage to the remaining parts of this strange cave.

He walked through the passage and emerged into a much larger tunnel illuminated by several magical lamps. With this much light he could get a better look and realized this part of the cave was different – the walls were wrought. It looked more like some kind of primitive basement than a cave. Definitely man-made.

Or devil-made.

The lamps provided light, but not warmth, as it was a little cold in here, but nothing serious. Keima glanced left and right, both directions looking equally unpromising and rather empty. If he didn't knew any better he would've thought this whole place was abandoned. But there was something, he spotted another hole on the opposite wall. Was it another room with more cells? Could there be someone conscious like him inside?

He carefully walked to the other entrance, if anything it would be a good place to hide, definitely better than staying in the open all the time. He was close enough to actually see another set of cells inside when he felt something nudging his back and then there was a voice.

"Don't move!" it wasn't loud or anything and it seemed female, but it was also cold and menacing, the effect only increased by the weak echo. Keima stiffened and could only await the next event.

"How did you get here?" the voice asked. At least it was Japanese.

"That's what I would like to know!" Keima responded, not sure whether he should whisper or scream.

"Shut up! And move!" the figure nudged him again with what must've been a gun of some sort. Was this person a human or a devil? Well, he'd seen devils using guns before. Technomagic rifles or something like that. Such things rarely appeared in games... but they still did.

Keima walked forward and entered the small chamber. The cells were empty. Great. His situation has worsened. Could he at least learn who has caught him?

"Don't even think about turning around!" the person threatened and then there was a short silence. "So you're that Katsuragi fellow, right?"

He had expected many things, but that wasn't one of them.

"What?" he replied, his confusion real for the most part.

"It must be you" the person replied, her voice laced with... mirth? "I've seen your pictures. You're the mastermind, aren't you?"

"A mastermind?" Keima asked. If he did it right he might be able to learn something.

"I'm the one who's asking questions here!" the person told him, emphasized by another nudge. Despite her outburst she was speaking quietly. "How did you manage to free yourself from the barrier?"

So she was the guard after all.

"I didn't" Keima replied, but he immediately regretted it. He had figured that the person was female, like most of the devils, and he knew he wasn't the strongest of males, but he was still surprised when she pushed him into a wall and she did it rather roughly.

"Don't lie to me!" the person hissed, clearly not amused. "It wasn't your usual barrier!" she then paused and he could very well imagine her smirking, even though he had no idea how she looked. "So... you're live up to your name..."

"What do you mean?"

The person ignored his question, but she didn't nudge him nor pressed him into a wall.

"Maybe you could help me out?" the person said, sounding as if talking to herself.

"Excuse me?" Keima asked, this time truly surprised. It was a flag he has never seen before. Not even once. Was this the reason she was speaking so quietly?

"You're a buddy, right? Working with devils. And you thought you've won, right?"

Keima considered playing dumb, but he decided it would be better to play along.

"Yeah."

"Well, you thought wrong. The Satyr survived. And seeks vengeance."

The person stopped, probably delighted by the shiver Keima felt running down his spine.

"And Vintage?" Keima asked.

"Vintage? Never heard of it" the person answered. "I won't lie to you. I'm not some big shot... but I'm not a mook either!"

"What are you then?" Keima asked and then decided to take a shot. "You're not a devil, are you?"

The silence told him what he wanted to know.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not" the person replied finally. "I still have you at gun point and I assure you – the magical guns are much more reliable than human ones."

"I'm sure they are" Keima replied. "You said about me helping you out. Care to explain?"

The person was silent for a moment, probably thinking it over.

"As you've noticed, I'm not a devil. I was just recruited. It seems the devils were in serious need of manpower. I didn't really have a choice. It is better to be the right hand of the devil than to be in his path. You get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah" Keima replied. He had been forced to do the devil's work as well, so he could understand.

"I may not be a big shot" she continued. "But you're a different case. Maybe if I let you go you can help me get free."

"Wouldn't it be safer for you to not try anything... funny?" Keima asked, but already have foreseen her answer.

"Well, if I don't do anything, there's always the chance that I'll be killed afterwards. We're talking about devils here, you know?"

"A chance you'll be killed? More like you'll definitely be killed" Keima remarked, but the person didn't comment. "You're not worried I will betray you?"

He heard her laugh. Quietly.

"You're not that stupid" it wasn't a question. "You have no reason to refuse me. Actually, you have no choice... and if you do betray me... then I'll just pretend you're lying. Who do you think they'll believe?" she paused for a second. "Just so you know. We're not allies, partners or equals. I'm using you and you just _might_ get something out of it. So don't get the wrong idea."

"Then I guess I'm not allowed to turn around?"

He received another nudge. Stronger than the first one.

"No, you don't. And no tricks. Are we clear?"

"Crystal."

"Then here's the deal" the person told him. "I'll tell you what I know and let you go. And you will let me go. I reckon you can be quite... what's the word... resourceful... and you probably have some tricks up your sleeve, but I don't think you're much of a warrior."

"Ooh?" he tried for a menacing voice. "And how would you know that? How do you know I'm not a devil?"

"Because otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Good point."

"Well, my guess is that you have some allies and that's why I would like not to spend too much time here with you" Keima realized she must've been monitoring the corridor behind them.

"So what's going on here? And where is here?"

"The outskirts of Maijima city" the person answered. "The building on the surface looks mundane enough, even if deserted, but there is quite a maze of tunnels here. It wasn't done by humans... no, I think the devils made it some time ago. Maybe they were planning something."

So Satyr base of operation on Earth or something prepared by Vintage for the invasion they never carried out, Keima thought.

"I was not told much" the person continued. "But I'm not stupid, I found out some things. I don't know how large the Satyr was before, they all talk about it like it was at least the size of some country... but I haven't seen more than six real devils and some humans. At least here."

"What are they doing?" Keima asked. Now he was certain. This person couldn't be trusted as an ally. But she said it herself – they weren't allies. She wanted out and he wanted information. And it worked so far. "Why I am here?"

"The devils gathered some humans. I was thinking they were going to kill or at least torture them, but they seem to be surprisingly gentle with those humans, except letting them sleep on bare rock of course. Do you know why is that?"

"No, I don't" Keima slowly replied, getting a bad feeling. This person seemed to think he was some big shot... but big shot wouldn't answer "No". He just hoped she wasn't that smart.

"You don't?" he could clearly hear disappointment in her voice. "That's a surprise. The man who managed to bring down the great Satyr doesn't know why they're after him?"

"I didn't exactly bring them down alone. And I can't see a route without enough information."

"A route?" the person seemed confused.

"Never mind that. So why were they gathering these humans?"

"It seems they need exactly what you need" she made a dramatic pause. "Information."

Keima didn't say anything.

"You see... the devils consider themselves superior to humans. And we'll talking about the Satyr here. I don't know the details, but they were apparently planning something big. They had manpower, the influence, you name it."

"It seems you know a lot for a mook" Keima commented. "You didn't know anything, so you started to snoop around. You've learned much, but that knowledge can be dangerous" he paused for a moment. "Now I understand why you're _using_ me. Go on."

"So, as I was saying, before someone" another hard nudge. "interrupted me, the Satyr had it all. And suddenly... bam! Their pride is reduced to a handful of devils hiding on Earth. You get where I'm going with this? They're too proud and they think humans are insects. They just can't understand how a bunch of insects managed to bring them down. But they're not stupid. They won't make the same mistake again. And for that they need information."

"You mean the Satyr wants to interrogate us to learn how they were defeated?" Keima couldn't keep the anger from his voice. It was like Diana and Vulcan's explanations. Tons of words instead of getting straight to the point. Like a bad quality RPG. It seems he stumbled upon a crappy game once more.

"Something like that" the person answered, proving his suspicions. "Once bitten, twice shy" she paused for a longer while, probably listening intently and Keima had the feeling the conversation was going to its end.

And he was right.

"Okay, here we part ways" the person said. "The right direction is a dead end, so you should head left after going out of this room. I'll go first and you wait for a minute before moving or the deal's off."

"Wait a moment" he tried despite the nudge of her gun. The funny thing was he was going to miss that nudge. "Do you really believe I can help you?"

"If you succeed then I can benefit. If you fail then nothing changes for me. You can always free your comrades the way you freed yourself. I guess it boils down to whether you really are a big shot or not" Keima could swear he _heard_ her smirk. "Here we go" and with that the pressure on his back disappeared.

(* * *)

It wasn't a completely useless event. This mysterious person hadn't killed Keima nor had put him inside a barrier. She had pointed him to what was, hopefully, a correct direction and Keima even had learned some things. Now with this knowledge he could finally draw some conclusion and one conclusion in particular was running through his mind right now.

He had no chance whatsoever.

I mean, he has no means of freeing anyone. When he was not surrounded by some allies like Haqua or Diana (as annoying as they could be at times), he could do nothing. For all he knew he could be traveling right into the hands of his enemies and the result would be the same as if he'd never left his cell, only quicker.

He was moving in the direction indicated by the woman from before, he passed another room that hold two cells and there he was met with a thing they call a blessing in disguise. One of the cells held Minami Ikoma and she was lying in such a position that he could clearly see her breathing. So she was alive and that probably meant the others were alive as well... at least when they were still in their cells.

Still, the sight shook him. Maybe that was the reason he had ignored the real. He had shielded himself from both good and bad things to protect himself. What he didn't want to see, what he couldn't see wouldn't hurt him, right? And Minami was kind of a special case. She was younger, she was one of the more pure-hearted heroines as far as he knew. Perhaps that was the reason why he felt just a little bit of regret when it turned out she had completely forgotten about him. Perhaps that was why he knelt in front of her cell, feeling powerless.

This wasn't the kind of situation he was good at. After all what kind of warrior preferred to fight with an unfamiliar weapon? He needed proper tools to follow the route. It's not like he couldn't see the choices... it's that all the choices had a big "BAD ENDING" sign above them.

When was the last time he felt so weak? When Elsie had first dropped from the sky? When Chihiro conquest had gone to hell? When Tsukiyo had fallen from the roof? When giant-sized Hinoki had been close to being consumed? When Kanon had been stabbed? When he had rejected Chihiro? Or when he had been standing in the middle of a classroom that was being torn apart by the forces of time and space?

No... the last two cases... they had been probably worse than this. But in both of those cases he had had help. Mainly from Tenri. But he had been close to losing anyway.

And now there was no-one. It was a long time since he had last truly lost a game. And now he was once again playing a game when losing could cost the lives of the people he cared for. And thousand others.

He didn't know how long he had spent there, looking at Minami's sleeping form. He didn't even realize a tear had run down his cheek.

But he did realize he could hear something. Two voices.

"Where the hell is she?" one of the voices said. "The number of possible hideouts is finite! She couldn't just disappear!"

"She had the hagoromo!" the other voices spoke. "I don't know how she smuggled it in, but she had it! She could very well turn invisible!"

"Invisible doesn't mean undetectable!" the first voice countered. "We should be able to find her even when she's invisible."

"We better be!"

The voices were getting closer and Keima was certain they would find him here. Unless... He moved to the cell next to Minami and lied down.

"Remember to check everyone" the first voice ordered. "She could be using an illusion!"

So much for that idea. He tried to think of anything else, but his mind was blank. They were already close, too close. Any second they would look inside the room and find him.

And then he heard something shuffle close to him and suddenly something landed on his mouth, making him panic.

"Mhm!" he mumbled out, trying to get free, but then he heard a third voice, whispering impossibly close to his ear.

"I advice you to be quiet or they'll find us."

Keima did as he was told, although he couldn't help the frantic beating of his heart when the pursuers finally reached their chamber.

A figure dressed in dark gray coat with a hood entered the chamber, a strange object in its hand. The figure looked ahead and beneath the hood Keima could see red eyes peering at the cells then gliding over him as if he hadn't been there. Then she inspected Minami's cell.

"And?" the other figure, its clothes a little bit lighter in color, appeared behind the first one. "Do you have anything?"

"Nothing" the first figure answered. "The detector isn't picking anything either."

"Damn!" the other was getting visibly more anxious. "The boss will have our heads if we don't find her. And she was able to break her barrier. She can free the others."

"So what? They're just a bunch of humans."

"Just do me a favor and don't speak like that when the boss is nearby, alright?"

"You really believe it? That bullshit about _humans"_ the first figure practically spat the world, turning around. "standing behind all this? I bet it was just Dokurō and her lackeys. And with Dokurō dead her lackeys aren't that dangerous."

"One of those lackeys just made a fool out of us" the other one reminded. This person was more level-headed, but started to slowly lose her cool. "And we still don't know what to do."

"For starters let's check the remaining cells. We might just get lucky."

"We better."

And with that the two figures were off and five seconds later Keima was released.

"I don't know... who you are" he breathed out after a moment. "Or how you did that... but thank you."

"There's no need to thank me, Katsuragi" he heard a voice in front of himself, but he saw nothing... until something in the space before him stirred. "I suppose you could say I was just returning the favor. And you being found out would be a disadvantage to me" at this the hagoromo came off revealing...

"Akari!?"

The girl standing before him looked almost exactly as Keima remembered her, except the clothes. At the moment she was wearing something much more cleaner then her lab coat, even if it was a little weird. There was a dark coat that Keima could easily imagine as something Haqua or Nora could wear, but underneath it Akari was wearing shorts and some kind of blazer... or at least something similar to those. As usual she had her dark purple hair tied up in two uneven pigtails. And as usual she was short. Even shorter than Mio or Tsukiyo.

"Oh, right" she said as she crouched and took the other part of her hagoromo off him. "You knew me as Akari... Kuro... Kura..."

"Kurakawa!" Keima said. "How can you forget your own... wait... That's not your real name?"

"No. My real name is Rimyuel. Rimyuel de Lute Irma."

Keima looked at Akari... or Rimyuel for a few seconds, his stare blank.

"Irma?"

"Yes... is something wrong?"

"Never mind that" Keima responded. There were a few questions he wanted to ask, but he could ask them after they lived through this. "How did you got here?"

"I was abducted, although I didn't go down easily. They took my scythe though" oh right, that one time she had a scythe similar to Haqua's, but older.

"So, you were a devil after all?" he asked.

"I thought you would have figured that long ago, Katsuragi" she scrutinized him as if he were some promising experiment that failed in the end.

"I did, but still" he stood up. "You said they took away your scythe, but they didn't take your hagoromo?"

"They did" Rimyuel answered, now looking outside their chamber. "I just had part of it stored inside a special barrier."

"And they didn't find it?"

"No" the girl answered matter-of-factly. "I am a barrier specialist and I honed my skills to perfection."

Her pride was similar to Haqua's... but Keima had the feeling it was much more deserved in her case.

"And those "barrier skills" are the reason you escaped?"

"Yes" Rimyuel turned back to him. "I assume that girl here" Rimyuel pointed to Minami. "is one of your conquests."

"You know about that?" Keima asked surprised.

"Yes. Dokurō told me about you working with us and about your duty to revive the goddesses" Keima was speechless, but Rimyuel didn't seem to notice. "I still don't understand how you could obtain such results using such unstable and illogical method as 'love'... but I cannot deny those results."

"Anyway" Keima felt both praised and insulted at the same time. "Can you break this barrier and help me get this girl out of here?"

"I could remove the barrier, but I wouldn't recommend it" Rimyuel replied. "Our enemies are not that stupid, they'll notice she disappeared. Furthermore, for now it would be safer for this girl to remain here."

Keima thought about it for a moment and then nodded. It was indeed the optimal route and he felt relief. Akari had always been like that, she might be weird, stiff and too methodical at times, but her way of thinking was similar to his. Keima still remembered their conversations during her conquest. Wait... she was a devil, so it wasn't a conquest. No time to ask that, he had other, more important questions.

"Still... you removed my barrier. I guess I should be thankful."

Rimyuel looked at him, for the first time looking surprised.

"What are you talking about?"

"You were the one who helped me escape, right?"

"No..." Rimyuel replied. "I didn't even know you were here. It was highly probable, considering how much you know, but it was only a suspicion."

Keima furrowed his brow. It didn't make sense. If it wasn't Akari, then who?

"Are you listening, Katsuragi?"

"Huh?"

"As I was saying, we need to get you out of here."

"Can you just... I don't know... fight your way through them?"

"Impossible" she replied. "I can fool them here, but further on they have a strong detection device. That's why I came back here."

"So what-"

"The device can detect my magical power even if I suppress it, but there is a way. Where is the cell you've been kept in?"

"The next room on the opposite wall, second cell from the left when you're looking inside from the entrance."

"Wait here."

Akari covered him in her hagoromo and then disappeared herself. A minute later she was already back.

"What did you do?" Keima asked.

"I made a celestial robe doll, it will act as a decoy. And I recreated the barrier in your cell."

"Why?"

"This way the enemy will think you're still in your cell" Rimyuel replied as if Keima was a four-year old that had just asked a really stupid question. "The longer the enemy thinks everything is alright, the better. Here" she handed him a small cylindrical device Keima recognized.

"A communication device?" he asked.

"You know about it?" Rimyuel asked. Keima nodded. "You know how to use it?" he shook his head.

"You just open it here, press this button and talk."

"I don't speak Hellian" Keima reminded her.

"Irrelevant" Rimyuel responded. "This will connect you to the Far East branch in New Hell. Someone will be speaking Japanese there."

Keima didn't argue about that. After all Satyr members seemed to speak Japanese as well. But there was something else he wanted to argue about.

"I know this is probably a stupid question" he started. "But why don't we just use it now?"

"Wouldn't work. The enemy is jamming all the signals. Regular magic works, but nothing can get out. You need to go outside to communicate. And we need to move quickly, before those two return."

"Wait" Keima still saw one big fault in this entire plan. "You said the detector will pick up anything magical..."

"Don't worry, the communicator won't be detected" Rimyuel assured him. "Nor will the hagoromo, but it won't be able to make you invisible once you get into the range of the device. You'll know when it will happen."

"I'm not talking about the communicator or the hagoromo!" Keima pointed finger at her. "I'm talking about you! How do you plan to get past them with me?"

"I don't" she replied.

"What?"

"I told you, didn't I?" she looked at him with a calm expression on her face. "The enemy has to think everything is in order. They know I escaped, so they won't lower their guard until they catch me."

Keima looked at her incredulous.

"No" he said.

"Still as stubborn as always" Rimyuel commented and he could swear he saw the corners of her lips curve upwards. "But we have no other way."

"I refuse!"

"Don't worry" Rimyuel grabbed the front of his Mai High uniform. "Regrettably, I still don't understand much about this action, but apparently it can be used as a good luck charm."

"What are you-"

Before he could say anymore Akari had yanked him down towards herself and kissed him.

Keima's eyes shot open, refusing to accept this ridiculous situation. Here he was, in the center of the enemy territory, being kissed by a mad scientist devil girl who barely understood what kissing meant.

The kiss was typical of Akari. Not really something you would call passionate or deep. It was calculated and methodical, although not as much as he remembered.

And this time she didn't stink of oil.

She separated from him finally, expression barely changed, but Keima could recognize something... a face of a scientist after a successful experiment.

"I wish you luck, Katsuragi" she told him, tossing part of her hagoromo over him.

Then she ran out of their hideout and headed left, not caring to stay quiet. Not five seconds later her pursuers chased after her.

 **(* * *)**

 **Sooo... Keima wakes up in Satyr's hideout and finds Sumire and Minami. Akari aka Rimyuel makes her appearance as well... resulting in bizarre kiss between a devil mad scientist and real-hating gamer... but if you think this reveals the main pairing of this story... then you're not entirely correct to say the least :)**

 **I also have a distinct feeling that Keima wouldn't like this chapter ("too much beating around the bush, stop talking like a bad quality RPG...").  
**

 **Well, anyway. As always you're free to give me a review. I would really like to know what you think about the story so far.**

 **See you next time!**

 **Trivia: the references in this chapter are brought to you by The Mummy (1999) and Predators (2010).  
**


	9. Flag 09: Flashpoint

**Hello, KamiNomi fans out there! I bring you another chapter as scheduled. The chapter itself has some 4500 words and for a reason – a lot of important things happen in here.**

 **I would like to thank for all the reviews, follows and favorites. I'm glad you like the story so far and I hope you'll continue to enjoy it as it further develops... especially since we are slowly getting to the (hopefully) more interesting parts...**

 **...on the other hand,** ** **for various reasons** I hadn't been able to write any new chapters lately (except for the corrections to the chapter below – originally it was ******shorter by** a few hundred words) and thus there are currently no more chapters beyond Flag 14** **. I guess it's not much of an issue... for now at least.**

 **Okay, onto the chapter!**

 **(* * *)**

Keima remained still for a few minutes, doubt and anxiety seizing his mind. This plan might have been the best one they had, but it still sucked. What chances they had that the enemy wouldn't figure it out?

Nonetheless, Keima was determined to not waste this chance. He tossed one last glance at Minami and clenched the fist he wasn't using to hold the communicator. He wasn't going to let the enemies have their way without a fight.

He started to slowly move forward, observing his surroundings at all times, careful to not make any noise. The chance was slim, but he could still turn the tables on the enemy. Stay hidden, lead the enemy astray, let them underestimate you.

They may be devils, but he was God. And the route wasn't closed yet.

He continued walking and quickly realized his direction was pretty straightforward as he couldn't see anymore of those strange rooms with cells. And maybe that was a good thing – seeing more of his previous conquest wouldn't help him. He didn't need more guilt. What he needed now was focus.

Finally, after a minute or two, he reached something that vaguely resembled a staircase made out of stone. It didn't look particularly inviting, but it was the only possible direction. Besides, he needed to reach the surface. He carefully walked upstairs thankful that the thick layer of dust muffled the sound of his steps. He reached the next floor and looked around to see if someone was here.

He didn't see any humans or devils, but he saw other things. Shelves for wine storage. Knocked over barrels. Some crates. Several magical lamps from before. A general mustiness...

And a lot of webs. He needed to watch out or he would be noticed even while wearing the hagoromo. Speaking of hagoromo, Keima checked and confirmed he was still invisible.

He started walking again and quickly realized that unlike the cave below, which was most probably artificial, this floor looked almost like genuine basement, even if deserted for years. He wondered what happened to the original owners.

Did Satyr used Vintage to kill or scare them away? Or maybe the devils created the house too? Or maybe, Keima shuddered, it belonged to some buddy.

He found another flight of stairs, wooden this time, ending with a door. He remained still for a moment, listening for any sounds going from the other side.

Nothing.

With no other choice he started climbing the stairs, constantly prepared for something unexpected to happen and making his steps as light as he could. It was a common development... in games. He may be a filthy otamega, but his gaming experience saved him more than once. And thanks to that experience he remained completely calm when the door opened the moment he was about to reach for the handle.

Another cloaked figure, this time dressed in black walked down the stairs, not caring about making them creak. Keima had enough time to lean against the wall, using the fact that he was rather slim. Fortunately, the devil didn't seem to care about closing the door, so Keima sneaked out, masked by the creaking noise made by the door itself.

He was inside some corridor. Now, how big could this house be? In theory, he could enter any room, open a window and get out... assuming the windows weren't boarded up.

Keima resumed his movement, but he quickly realized two problems. First, the house proved to be much larger than he anticipated. Second, and the more important one, the hagoromo was starting to fail. Keima still couldn't see himself as anything more than a strange blur, but he was definitely becoming visible. He backed a little and, as expected, the hagoromo returned to its full function.

He turned around to assess the situation. Should he head back? The only thing that he had found back there was the entrance to the basement and a half-devastated bathroom with no windows. It seemed going forward was his only way of proceeding.

On one hand it was risky. During a conquest that wouldn't bother him... even if there wasn't a chance he would just create one. But the real was different. On the other hand more than once dumb luck has saved him in the past. Keima didn't deal in chance, but he had no other cards on his hand at the moment.

He moved forward, painfully aware that the hagoromo was fading away and there could be an enemy waiting around the corner. But it didn't and Keima reached another intersection. He had to choose to either go straight ahead, turn left or go back whence he came from.

He looked ahead. An empty corridor, not counting a few pieces of furniture fighting a lost battle to not fall apart. This direction didn't look promising, but it could be worse. Next Keima neared the intersection and carefully glanced in the left corridor.

It was a much shorter one ending quickly with old, but sturdy door. That was all he could see, but his hearing told him more. There were definitely some sizzling noises that were difficult to pinpoint, but they reminded him of something – the fight between Diana and the devil in his home. And it wasn't just hearing... Keima was certain he could almost _feel_ some invisible power that made his skin crawl. And once or twice some light flashed from inside the room, illuminating the door.

This probably meant magic. Magic meant devils. And devils meant a bad ending. It was clearly a wrong route. He couldn't stay much longer in the open like this either – the devil from before might return any moment, especially if the celestial robe doll decoy in Keima's cell was to be discovered. And he definitely wasn't waiting for more death-flag devils to emerge from behind the door.

He quickly passed the intersection and walked to the corridor ahead, not pleased when the floor creaked every time he stepped on it. Stay calm, just get far enough for hagoromo to start working again. When it finally did, Keima hid behind some cupboard. He allowed himself ten seconds to calm down and assess the situation and then started walking again.

This entire time he couldn't get rid of this one feeling – he felt like he was running away and leaving everyone behind, but he kept telling himself that it was the only way how he could help everyone. Besides it was nothing new – from the very beginning he was hurting others and being a jerk in order to help them. Seems like nothing had changed since then.

He finally found a room that was creepy enough so he would never want to enter it if it weren't for one thing – a window. It was only half open and it was small, he would probably get a splinter or two trying to get out through it, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was to get out. He needed to keep his cool. It still could end badly. Someone might be guarding this exit. He stepped over the threshold and then he realized he had been wrong.

He didn't miss this nudge at all.

"Long time no see" he was greeted by familiar voice, this time full of unadulterated mischief. "Where are you going?"

Keima felt a wave of disappointment and powerlessness wash over him.

"We had a deal" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Well said: we _had_ a deal."

At this point he had nothing to lose and tugged violently, hoping to throw the enemy off balance and escape, but she was prepared – once again she managed to pin him, this time to a dirty wall.

"You've been a bad boy mister mastermind" she whispered into his ear. "And what's this?" she jerked the communicator out of his hand. "Well... I did expect you to achieve something, but I didn't think you were this resourceful."

"Why are you doing this?" Keima asked, probably just to say something, to occupy his mind, to push the other thoughts away.

He had failed. He was the one responsible. Akari believed in him. And he had failed.

"You seriously thought I would let you go?" the person asked.

"You said you wanted out!" he said, trying to turn his head, but still couldn't see more than a scrap of the hood covering her face. "We can use this communicator to call help! You still can be free I prom-" he stopped when he saw the communicator being tossed and falling out of the window.

"I found another alternative" the person replied, no doubt with a smile. "If I stop you from escaping and bring you to the devils even they would be grateful, don't you think? Now move!"

(* * *)

Keima tried to think of something, anything, but the route looked as a dead end now and it was becoming more and more literal with each passing second. And his enemy seemed smart enough to no give him any openings.

"Faster! Turn right. Yes, right there!"

He knew it. They were standing in front of the door from before. She was leading him straight into the lion's den.

"Now, open it!"

He didn't obey and his keeper lost her patience, holding Keima with one hand and then simply kicking the door open.

"What's going on?" three cloaked figures, distinguishable only by different colors of their clothes turned in their direction immediately, two magical rifles pointed at them. "How dare you enter this room so brazenly, human!"

"Is that how you thank me for preventing you most important target from escaping?" the woman holding Keima tossed him to the ground.

The devils hesitated when they noticed Keima. "What do you mean?" one of them asked. "He should be in his cell!"

"Well, he escaped... or someone set him free. You know who I mean, right?" the faces of the devils were almost completely covered by shadow, but it was obvious they couldn't disagree. "I suppose a 'thank you' is in order" the woman who brought Keima suggested, rather bravely.

Keima paid the conversation no heed. He didn't even attempt to get up from his knees. He was just blankly staring in front of him, his widened eyes darting all around the room, his mouth slightly open.

The room was indeed the command center, but not only that. It was quite big and spacious with almost every piece of the original furniture removed in the place of the equipment the devils brought with themselves, but it still was barely able to contain all the stuff.

Aside from Keima and the woman who brought him there were four cloaked figures in the room, all of them female devils no doubt. The first three looked like typical low-ranks, but at least one of them considered herself an officer, because she continued to argue.

"You expect gratitude?" she asked in disbelief. "Know your place, you insolent-"

"Enough."

This new voice held a considerable amount of authority despite being calm and quiet, immediately and effectively shutting the arguing devil up.

The voice belonged to the last devil woman in the room. She was the only one sitting and the only one with her hood down and just a glance was enough to guess she was in charge here. She didn't resemble a leader though. She was more reminiscent of a noblewoman, as there was an air of pride and elegance about her. She had long black hair, her complexion and features were surprisingly delicate, making her look like her age was similar to Jun Nagase or Nikaidō and definitely younger than Keima's mother. However, the woman's red eyes were a constant reminded that she was a devil and therefore was probably hundred years old and if one were to dwell on her eyes long enough he or she would get lost in them, comprehending the depths of the woman's experience, wisdom and craftiness that was reflected in the crimson orbs.

"I forbid you from speaking about humans in that way, didn't I?" the devil woman spoke leisurely to her officer, before addressing the human girl. "That man is indeed an important piece of the puzzle... So, you're saying you brought him to me before he could escape?"

"That is correct" the human who brought Keima bowed quite deeply. "I also took the liberty of exchanging a few words with him and managed to learn some things" she smiled. "This person is definitely as crafty and important as you think milady."

"Hoo?" the devil leader raised a delicate eyebrow, but a smile graced her lips. "Seems I was right about not underestimating humans" she was lost in thought for a moment. "You are reasonable and quite mature for a human. You remind me of someone I once knew. Most of you race might be weak and useless, but some of you can be quite useful. After all, it was the wickedness of humans that made them the target of devils in the past" the devil paused for a moment, possibly considering something. "I think our little organization would benefit with your recruitment becoming permanent."

"Lentrant-sama!" the officer-like devil said with disbelief. "You cannot be serious!"

"Silence!" Lentrant, as the devil noblewoman was apparently named, spoke with a little more authority in her voice. "Bring me that man!"

The officer devil approached Keima, who hadn't been really listening to the entire conversation and hadn't been paying attention to the five figures sitting or standing on the ground. No, this entire time Keima's eyes, face and attention were directed up, still not completely believing what he was seeing.

The room was not simply big, it was also high, it seemed that its original ceiling had been destroyed along with the room or rooms above it, creating roughly a 7 by 7 by 7 meters cube. However, if one thought that the space above their heads was empty then that person would be mistaken.

The space was littered with more than a dozen cylindrical objects floating and swaying lazily in the air. Each object was large enough for a person to fit inside. And the objects were somewhat transparent, proving that the inside of each one of them was indeed occupied by a person.

Overall there was seventeen people and Keima recognized them all. There was Ayumi, Tsukiyo and all other goddess hosts. This alone was enough to freeze him on the spot, but that was just the beginning.

Mio Aoyama was floating in a container easily twice her own size or at least that's what it looked like when compared to Kusunoki Kasuga, who occupied the object right next to her. Keima could also see the older of the Kasuga sisters, Hinoki, and to the far left there was Rieko Hinaga, the elderly woman from the Yamaguchi village. There was even Chihiro, looking as calm and asleep as all the others.

Keima turned his head, expecting to see more of his previous conquest targets, but the remaining containers held different people.

He could see the old man Shiratori easily recognizable even though Keima had never met him in this timeline. There was Yukie Marui and Nora's buddy, what was his name? Ryō Asama.

And currently the most important of all, the last three containers held Nikaidō, Nora and Haqua.

At this point the officer has grabbed Keima, forcing him to stand up, dragging him along and tossing him in front of the one called Lentrant, but this time he stood up.

"On your knees-" the officer started, but Lentrant silenced him with a gesture.

"This man is our guest. Let's not be too rough... for now" she said with a smirk.

Keima narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" he asked.

This question was the first thing that visibly surprised Lentrant, but she quickly composed herself.

"You are in the unknown territory, surrounded by enemies and imprisoned comrades" she pointed to the general people standing and floating in the room. "With no chances to escape whatsoever... Yet you still have the audacity to ask questions? You're truly interesting, human. I'll give you that."

"You haven't answered my question" Keima remarked, not entirely sure what fueled his composure. Was it anger? Or desperation?

"Quite right" she smirked. "I am Roudret Ruhm Lentrant. The former captain of the seekers unit of Europe and the Commissioner of the great energy task force Commission and Supervisor to the Underworld Green Force" she said as if she had been practicing to say it her entire life. Her entire long life. "And I am also one of the leaders of Satyr. Well... the only leader now, I guess" she paused for a moment, observing his reaction which wasn't much. "You don't seem surprised" she smiled evilly. "Now... courtesy demands you introduce yourself as well."

"Keima Katsuragi" he complied. "The gamer and lover of dating sims. The hero of all game heroines" then he remembered something and smiled almost against himself. "And the cross-dressing otamegane."

He saw a blink of confusion in Lentrant's eyes and he didn't blame her. A big shot devil terrorist and a high school gaming recluse. They were worlds apart.

Figuratively and literally.

"Meeting you in person is certainly interesting" Lentrant finally responded and then noticed where Keima's eyes have been darting to. "Oh? You're curious about this?" she pointed to what was happening to her right.

Yes, Keima was curious about it. All of the people imprisoned inside the cylindrical objects were doing pretty much nothing, except for two. Hinoki and Shiratori's blocks were floating much lower than the rest, almost touching the ground and circling around some strange looking device.

The device looked like a spire half the height of a human. At the very top of it there was some transparent cube small enough to fit inside a fist. But the strangest thing was a blue mist that seemed to flow out of Hinoki and Shiratori. What started as feeble blue, barely visible wisps quickly turned into almost corporeal strands that were drawn into the center of the cube where a blue mass of light was pulsing as if alive.

And once in a while the cube was flashing, illuminating the entire room with a white blinding light. It was probably visible even from outside, despite the fact that all the windows were covered with dark and thick curtains.

"Do you know what that is?" Lentrant asked, clearly amused by Keima's expression. "We're extracting their memories. Trying to learn about your group and where the rest of you is."

"That's pointless" Keima told her, briefly wondering whether they have already extracted his memories or not. "Most of those here were carriers of runaway spirits! Their memories has been erased! You won't find anything related to you."

"And that's where you're wrong human" the officer devil walked to him and for the first time Keima could see the face of someone other than Lentrant. And this face wasn't pleasant to look at. Keima's previous conquest might be tainted real girls, but they at least had high physical stats, unlike this... female. Overall her face wouldn't be _too_ bad if it weren't for the scars.

"The memories of Weiss hosts are not erased or altered" the Ugly Face continued. "They are buried beneath a new layer of false memories created around them. The original memories can be retrieved with proper equipment" she pointed to the cube with her head. "And just for the record, I think you're lying... human."

"Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't... there's one way to check" Lentrant spoke. "The device cannot process more than two people at once, but I see the queue is empty now" Keima looked at the device and indeed, the containers holding the older Kasuga and Shōtarō Shiratori were now floating amongst the others and the light inside the cube had compressed into a small point, no longer flashing.

"We got to you at the end, so you'll be the last" Lentrant caught Keima's attention. "But I think that's fitting. Right, mister mastermind?"

The remaining devils moved without a command and the next instant Keima found himself wrapped in some magical slimy-looking stuff. He remembered that one. The Mai High festival. Him, Chihiro and Ayumi had been caught in such thing before. But back then they were saved... Keima tried to turn, so he could see the container holding Haqua, but the violet-haired girl remained unmoving just like everyone else.

Shit... unlike the last time there was no-one to save him. Please. Just this last time. Nora, Akari, Vulcan.

Anyone.

He had expected this to end with him losing conscious again, but no – he could see that he was floating in the air, though he was almost completely immobilized. Soon his container was positioned in front of the cube and he saw one of the devils, a technician no doubt, walk to the device, while Lentrant, Ugly Face, the human and the last devil observed him.

The devil by the console brought up some strange interface that couldn't be man-made. Keima tried to focus... no don't focus. He had to be prepared to not let them know anything. But how could he prepare?

And then it started. And Keima could do nothing, but see scenes from his life literally flash before his eyes.

"What's going on?" Lentrant asked not five seconds after the process started. "It looks different than the others."

Nobody needed to ask what she meant. Instead of a slow-moving blue mist what was flowing out of Keima was a strong and fast current, pulsing violently and the cube seemed to barely catch up with the transfer speed, the white light flashing every other second and becoming more frequent.

"Why is that happening?" Lentrant for the first time sounded unsure. "Don't let him die in the process! What's wrong?"

"Nothing" the technician devil replied, tapping on the interface. "Actually it's going too good. It seems this one has much more memories than the others."

"Most of them are of similar age" Ugly Face remarked.

"Yes, but we're only searching for related memories" the Technician replied. "Apparently this human has a whole lot of them."

"Then the process should last longer" the last, possibly low-level, devil countered, panic in her voice. "Why is it going so fast?"

"I'm not certain..." the Technician said, fiddling with the interface and skimming over the data scrolling through the screen. "But it looks like the brain of this one is... inhuman."

"Inhuman?"

"Yes... his brain seems more like a computer. Like a database. Almost every memory is dated and all of them are readily available and organized" a short pause. "At this rate this is going to end quickly. And the subject should be mostly unharmed."

The Technician was right, but even she must've been surprised when the link between Keima and the cube ended abruptly three seconds later.

"What happened?" Lentrant asked in a demanding voice.

"I think..." the Technician looked inside the cube where the liquid memories spun for a few moments before stabilizing again. "I think it's done."

"Check the human" the Ugly Face commanded.

Was this how all those real people normally felt, thought Keima as he tried to get a hold of his own mind. He didn't even realize he was released from his prison until he felt the ground beneath his feet and immediately landed on his knees and wobbling arms.

The only reason he didn't throw up was probably because there was nothing to throw up. The low-level devil approached him and brought him back on his feet, but Keima was absolutely certain he was going to fall down the moment she let go of him.

"He's pretty much shaken up. But he will be fine" the devil reported. "Probably."

Lentrant didn't look as if she heard that particular remark. She gestured with her hand and a strand of wisp expelled from it, grabbed the cube and pulled it back to her.

"Be careful milady" the Technician said. "The memories are still fresh and mixed. You won't be able to distinguish between them until they settle!"

"Don't worry" Lentrant replied. "It'll be just a glimpse" and with that she put her hand on the cube and closed her eyes. For the next few seconds she remained completely unmoving and if Keima didn't know any better he would have thought she had fallen asleep. He used this time to at least try to get up, but it proved difficult.

The light inside the cube was unstable, switching and changing shape all the time, as if someone was rotating a jar full of liquid in order to see it from different angles and find something.

All of a sudden the light stopped moving. Lentrant's eyes shot open and she seemed lost for a moment or two, as if she had woken up from some surrealistic dream. Then her eyes focused.

"Damn you Dokurō Skull!" she all but screamed, anger twisting her noble features. And then her face turned, her gaze landing on Keima, humiliation and contempt reflected in her eyes.

"You want to tell me that it was just the two of you? Her and you?" she roared in a way that made Keima, and not only him, flinch. "I still don't get how _exactly_ you did all this, but I know you're dangerous enough if left alive" she paused, unforgiving eyes shining. "Kill him" she stated plainly.

"With pleasure" the Ugly Face moved to stand above Keima, who was fighting to get back on his feet, looking up at the devil. His head was still spinning and his ears were ringing... but he thought he heard something besides the ringing. The Ugly Face must have heard it too, because she looked up and then quickly drew her own gun and fired three times somewhere above Keima's head.

Shortly after that Keima saw the door he was brought through open violently and another two cloaked figures came in. Just how many devils were there? "What the hell was that?" one of the newcomers asked. "We heard gunshots."

"Yes, what was that?" Lentrant asked, seeming displeased with her subordinate.

"We had another escapee, but I took care of it." the Ugly Face said, turning towards the devils standing in the doorway. "You can go back to your pos-" the Ugly Face stopped suddenly and raised her weapon once more, but before she could fire the gun it got sliced in two. Keima had given up trying to stand up, but his vision was a little bit clearer now and he smiled.

Never before in his life was he this happy to see Haqua and her scythe.

 **(* * *)**

 **So a lot of events in this chapter. I wonder what'll happen next xD Is it really Hauqa? How did she get free? Will she save the day? Or maybe it's a game over? Will Keima get to peacefully play his games at last? Read the next chapter to find out!**

 **Three minor issues. First, attentive readers might have noticed that Keima swears in this chapter. I'm not too sure about it, but it didn't feel right to use anything else. In my defence: those are only Keima's thoughts and in manga Keima does the same thing twice in Flag 175 (at least that's how it was translated).  
**

 **Second, about Lentrant's title(s). I just copied her description from the KamiNomi Wiki, hoping that this is correct enough.**

 **Three, the reference in this chapter is brought to you by Matrix Reloaded (2003).**

 **That's all. The next chapter should come out on Friday. See you!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Omake –** ** **Keima and** Haqua pokémon style:  
**

 **"Haqua, I choose you! Use slash!" Keima shouted, tapping the buttons on his GameBoy.**

 **On the console screen the anime-styled Haqua grabbed her scythe and answered with a sound typical for her species.**

 **"Tsun, tsun! Dere, dere!"**


	10. Flag 10: The fallen angel

**Hello everyone, I'm back with another chapter as promised. And this chapter is probably the most event-packed and fast-paced so far... but before we get to it I have some usual announcements.**

 **First, as usual I would like to thank everyone for they continued support. It helps to keep me motivated. I'm also glad that my omake idea was received better than anticipated.**

 **To Shawn Raven: yes, Haqua's appearance was unexplained, but we will get to that. Not necessarily in this chapter though...**

 **And some less-than-great news: I still haven't done Flag 15, so we have only four chapters left before I run out of things to post... so I'm forced to decrease the frequency of updates. The next chapter will be posted on** ** **Tuesday**.**

 **Alright, onto the chapter!**

 **(* * *)**

"Look out!" one of the devils shouted, but Haqua was already too close and slashed at the Ugly Face. The enemy had composed herself though and blocked the attack with a long blade retrieved from god knows where, then spun quickly in place and stabbed the violet-haired devil girl right on her chest.

Before Keima could even think about opening his mouth to scream, wounded Haqua swelled and then... snapped like a popped balloon.

A celestial robe doll.

The real Haqua was already past the Ugly Face, moving through the air despite not having a hagoromo and heading straight for Lentrant.

"Milady!" Ugly Face left Keima and rushed after Haqua.

Lentrant was surprised or at least that's what it looked like, because when Haqua was already close, the Satyr leader dodged expertly and smiled, obviously planning to launch a counterattack... but then her eyes widened when she realized what Haqua was really after – for the violet-haired girl didn't stop at all when Lentrant dodged and swung her scythe with all her power.

It started with a chink. A crack. Then the crack widened and the entire cylindrical block shattered, releasing Tsukiyo from her prison. And the very same instant the girl's hair immediately turned crimson.

Lentrant reacted quickly – she turned around in mid-air and started to raise her hand, no doubt preparing some nasty spell. However, she wasn't even half through her motion, when Vulcan's eyes opened, the hard gaze of the red-eyed goddess met the equally red and determined irises of a devil.

And the moment Vulcan's eyelids went up everything in the room that wasn't firmly attached to the floor raised with them.

All the sharps fragments left from prison of the goddess included.

Moments later chaos ensued during which all the remaining devils launched into the air, trying to help their master. Keima followed them with his eyes, his experience with playing multiple dating sims at once the only reason he knew what was going on.

"You little bitch!" Lentrant practically hissed and fired some green ball in Vulcan's direction, but it exploded when it collided with the debris flying around. The debris also stroke some of the remaining floating prisons, breaking another two containers. Three pairs of wings could now be seen, the new goddesses moving to intercept the other devils.

"Kill them!" Lentrant yelled, her features changing beyond regular anger and her entire being started to emit some dark mist. "Kill them all!" she then pointed her hand to aim at one of the still intact cylindrical blocks.

The one holding Chihiro.

Keima was sure the time slowed down. He was still on his knees and he watched another green blob form in Lentrant's hand. Suddenly he saw some movement in the corner of his eye.

Lentrant saw that too, her quick reaction was the only reason the person attacking her from the side failed to grab what she wanted – the shinning cube Lentrant was still holding in her other hand.

This new person turned out to be no-one other than Rimyuel though Keima had no idea where she came from. Was she the one who let Haqua escape? It seemed logical, but... why didn't they attack together from the beginning?

Meanwhile, Lentrant flown back a little and looked at Rimyuel. Lentrant must have recognized her, because her eyes narrowed, her anger almost visible now, as if Lentrant herself was some character from a manga.

"Kill the human!" she yelled.

The human. Keima has just realized Lentrant meant him when he heard the sound of footsteps and turned his head to the side.

In front of him stood the human girls from before, two meters between them, the rifle in her hands ready and aimed at his head. Keima couldn't react on time. He was still on his knees. His brain didn't stop, quite the opposite – it was spewing thought after thought, but none of them were going to work. He could only watch the barrel of the gun trained on him. He was kneeling, while the girl was standing and for the first time he could see her eyes and her lips, curved into a satisfied smile.

Keima had always been composed, always managing correct flags, acting to steer the route to the good ending. But this time there were no more flags. The route reached its end. And this time Keima could really feel fear. He was afraid. Afraid and tired. In such conditions even a mind as brilliant as his could start to hallucinate.

And Keima started to hallucinate. It had to be a hallucination, because there was no other explanation for what he thought he saw.

He thought he saw the girl wink.

With a smooth but quick motion the girl turned around, her gun drawing a perfect arc in the air, until it stopped, the barrel aimed at the middle of Lentrant's slightly surprised face. And then there was gunshot.

Either the bullet sidetracked or Lentrant managed to shift, because the attack only grazed her.

"How dare you attack me you traitor!" the devil yelled and shot a projectile on her own. The girl attempted to dodge and the attack impacted on the floor some distance from her and Keima, but still the resulting explosion tossed the girl backwards as if she was nothing more than a rag doll while Keima found himself on his back, eyes pointed upwards, so he could still see everything that was happening.

The attack didn't abate Lentrant's anger one bit, but it gave Vulcan enough time to send a multitude of shrapnels, equipment and even a chair right at her from all directions. The devil somehow avoided it and immediately after that she spun around allowing Haqua's scythe to slice through the air where Lentrant had been a second ago. But the spinning brought the enemy devil face-to-face with Rimyuel.

And the small devil scientist actually looked angry when she fired a spell.

Lentrant, by some incomprehensible fluke of fate, avoided being hit by a surge of light, but Rimyuel achieved now what she hadn't been able to do before – the cube full of memories was hurled into the air.

Keima froze in the middle of trying to stand up. If he had thought that the time slowed before, then now it seemed to completely stop. Everyone, goddesses and devils alike, forgot their battles for a moment and all the eyes in the room focused on the flying object. The cube soon reached the highest point of its flight. For a briefest of moments it stood still and then started to fall, flashing once as in panic before hitting the ground and shattering to pieces.

Keima had been expecting an explosion, but the opposite happened – the released blue mass of memories imploded into itself, vanishing from existence.

"Noooo!" Lentrant yelled, which brought a smile to Keima's lips. At least the Satyr wouldn't get their hands on the memories. If this were a game that would be the ending.

But this wasn't a game and thus all Hell broke loose.

Spells started to fly in all directions and Keima hit the deck, feeling similar to when Diana had been fighting the devil in his house. Once or twice a spell should hit him, but it bounced back, as if being deflected by some magical field. Was it Minerva?

He looked up.

All of the goddesses were free now and so was Nora and nobody looked confused, engaging into battle instead. Keima could see six goddesses and three New Devils now, but the enemy was barely outnumbered, despite the fact the at least two bodies of the Old Devils were lying on the ground. Enemy reinforcements must have arrived. The situation didn't look good for the Satyr though, the only reason they managed to fight back was because they were aiming for the hostages, while the goddesses were trying to protect them. Minerva's barriers were appearing all over the place and the entire house was shaking with every explosion. Most of the spells were detonated prematurely, absorbed by a barrier or landed on the floor, but some of them reached the walls and ceiling, slowly filling them with holes.

But the most damage was done by Lentrant herself.

Keima didn't really know much about devils. The New Devils looked like humans. All the Vintage and Satyr members he had met so far were like that too. He has never seen a devil that looked like a devil. Until now, that is.

The thrashing being that was currently fighting Haqua, Rimyuel and Diana looked nothing like the composed noblewoman from before. Lentrant's skin had turned red, two quite large twisted horns were at each side of her head, her hands were now sporting claws. Around her entire being there was some cloak made of black and red tendrils that were writhing constantly like a mass of snakes, surrounding the devil on all sides except for her shoulders, where many tendrils combined together to form something vaguely resembling wings.

"You'll pay for that!" Lentrant screamed. Even her voice was different, shrill and thunderous at the same time. "We have defeated you before goddesses! You'll fall as you did before!"

"Were not like we were before" Diana countered, sending an impressive beam of white light her way, but Lentrant simply smacked it away. "The six goddesses separated is one thing. But when together we get stronger with the bond we share!" Diana said, her hands raised above her head. This time three beams were launched at Lentrant, who was forced to dodge, before clashing with Haqua and Rimyuel. "And now there's all six of us here! Know the power of the Jupiter Sisters!"

Lentrant flew upwards, her turn to raise her hands, an orb of ominous energy gathering between them and expanding.

"Know the might of Roudret Ruhm Lentrant!" the orb stopped getting larger, it was now bigger than Lentrant herself. "This is for Satyr and-"

Keima never learned what she wanted to say next. Before Lentrant could launch her attack Haqua appeared in front of her, her scythe raised above her head. With the sounds of the battle it wasn't easy to make out what everyone was saying, but despite all the commotion Keima heard Haqua's next words clearly.

"And this is for Dokurō Skull."

And she slashed downwards with all her might.

It wasn't a killing blow, but it still ripped flesh and made the blood fly in all directions. Lentrant made a sound, a terrifying screech and was thrown back, releasing the spell she was preparing upwards. The orb reached the ceiling, creating the biggest explosion so far. Keima covered himself from the dust and debris and then he squinted his eyes when sunlight hit them.

The ceiling was no more and Keima could clearly see the cloudy November sky above them, the sound of the rushing wind joining the cacophony of battle. Lentrant flew out of the house, wailing in pain, pursued by her three enemies. The remaining devils followed, moving the battle to the outside.

Suddenly it became quiet. Keima slowly stood up, coughed and looked around. The dust was beginning to settle, revealing the magnitude of destruction. The house was a total ruin now, not a single piece of equipment intact. The sole exception were the cylindrical objects which were now lying on the ground and seemingly sustained no damage, even if the people inside them were as unmoving as before.

Keima's intention was to try to help them, even if it was pointless. After all, what could he do against a devil spells? He should just wait for the others, but he needed to do something. They could still be in danger. Mio. Kusunoki. Chihiro. He started walking towards the nearest block when he noticed something lying right next to it and flinched.

It was the human girl who made a deal with him, betrayed him and then attacked Lentrant. The girl was wounded, her clothes near her waist were stained red, but what caught Keima's attention was the fact the her hood was gone and he could see the girl's face.

Keima didn't see that face before, his brain told him, but there was something about it that seemed familiar. Where could've seen her? She couldn't be a Mai High student, she looked older than Kusunoki and Jun. And then the girl stirred. Her face slowly turned towards him, her eyes opening, but still remained half-closed. And she smiled. It was a small, disturbing and sly smile that didn't reach the girl's eyes.

And he recognized that smile.

It was the smile of Kaori Yūzaki.

"Long time no see... Keima-kun" she told him as if they were exchanging opinions over coffee.

Keima was silent for a moment. He remembered how several minutes ago the girl had tossed Rimyuel's communication device out the window. And he also remembered how 10 years ago he had done something similar to her, the irony working like a dried mud, covering his every limb, immobilizing him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked finally, his voice full of obvious surprise.

"That's it?" Kaori replied, her eyes widening, but then they narrowed a bit. "Here I spend the last ten years... preparing and all... and what I get is 'what are you doing here...?' You could at least thank me you know..."

"Ten years?" Keima mumbled out, mostly to himself. That made no sense...

He stopped thinking about that when Kaori coughed up some blood. No. It didn't matter what she was doing here, what had happened and whose side she was on. He hated development where people die. Any people.

"Yes..." she answered his question.

"Don't talk" he berated her. "We need to treat you, wait here I'll get-"

"You haven't changed" she told him, her smile looking surprisingly sad. "You still waste... your efforts on other people... And there I was... trying to beat you... who had both angels and devils on your side... How foolish of me. Or perhaps I wasn't trying hard enough... How did you put it?" she paused for a moment. "A happy end will never come to those who want to finish a difficult game with ease...?"

"I told you to stop talking!" it wasn't too late. He could do it. He just had to stop his hands from shaking. "Help! Anyone! I need help!" he shouted.

Then he heard a chuckle. He looked at Kaori and found her smiling again, but this smile was different. It wasn't a twisted and devious smirk... I mean it was a little bit creepy, but unlike her previous ones this one was more gentle, more genuine... and finally reached her eyes.

"I won" Kaori told him, as if she just checkmated him in shōgi.

"Huh?"

"I told you before... didn't I?" she started. "I wanted you... and right now I have all of your attention. Not the devils... not the goddesses" a cough. "And not those human girls... Me."

"Please, just stop talking" Keima told her.

"Second thing" Kaori said while grabbing his arm, cutting him off. "I told you I would make you beg... and you just asked me" another cough. "You just said 'please'... didn't you?"

"You're not thinking straight, let me ju-"

"And third" the smile on her face was the happiest he had ever seen on her, here eyes focusing downwards. "Looks like I finally had you kneel before me."

Keima blinked and then realized she was right – he was on his knees though he didn't remember kneeling.

A series of coughs brought his attention back to Kaori. She had her eyes closed.

"Hey, stay with me! Don't you dare close your eyes!"

"Whaaat...?" she said slowly, as if not comprehending. "Did you... say anything? Everything is... blurry."

"I told you to stay with me!" Keima half-shouted, leaning over her.

And Kaori had been waiting for that. In a motion surprisingly swift for a dying woman she raised the upper part of her body and crashed her lips to his.

Keima's eyes widened and he immediately tried to pull back, but he felt Kaori's hand land on the back of his head and stop him in place with considerable strength. If that wasn't enough to surprise him, then her tongue slipping past his lips was. It was both similar and different compared to the French kiss he got from Hinoki a long time ago.

Kaori finally let go of him and slumped back to the ground, her expression looking painful now, but despite this she smiled gently. "I'm sorry for getting in your way before... Goodbye, Keima-kun."

And then her eyes closed.

"No!" Keima yelled. "You can't! You can't die" he needed to help her. He needed someone who knew healing techniques. "Haqua! Apollo! Please! I need your help!" he screamed.

He knew that kind of development. No matter how long or how loud he screamed no-one would come. Thus, he was surprised when not two seconds later both Haqua and Apollo landed next to him.

"Katsuragi?" Haqua asked as if surprised of his existence. Her clothes torn in several places, most of them indicated by dried out blood. "What's wrong?" then she looked next to Keima and saw what was wrong.

"You need to help her!"

He didn't need to say it twice. Apollo was already using her magic, making Kaori's body glow. Keima observed this, his gaze fixed on Kaori's face, waiting for her to open her eyes.

And then he suddenly felt the little strength he had wane, making him almost collapse.

"Katsuragi?" Haqua asked, her eyes widening in obvious concern.

"I'm fine" he replied, but he knew he wasn't fooling anyone. He felt it again and the only reason he wasn't on the ground was because Mercury appeared behind him and held him in place.

"What's happening to him?" the silver-haired goddess asked.

"I-I think those are the after-effects after his m-memories were copied!" it was Minerva, who grabbed him as well, preventing him from falling over.

"Katsuragi!" Haqua's face appeared before him, looking as if she was truly afraid. "Does it hurt anywhere? Can you hear me?"

That sentence was the last one Keima was able to comprehend. He tried to told her he was fine and she should take care of Kaori, but he couldn't hear himself speak. Actually, he couldn't see that much either, Haqua's face suddenly changing into a big blurry patch of violet.

And then the familiar sensation of losing consciousness embraced him.

 **(* * *)**

 **So... this is definitely an important chapter and a lot has happened. Satyr gets its ass kicked (or does it?). Rimyuel is back and well...**

 **And Kaori from 10 years ago is back and... not so well... I'm also curious how many of you have predicted that the human girl was Kaori... until now I tried to hide her identity as best as I could, even making her act as if she didn't know Keima or Vintage and making the title of the chapter a little opposite to how Kaori really is. Interestingly, her actions and speech were planned out months ago for the most part.  
**

 **Actually, most of what had happened in the last 3 chapters were in my head for quite some time now. All the other parts (long speeches and explanations) were just to make such events plausible. And just for the record – I still have a lot of things to write about in this story, even though some of them are only sketches for now.**

 **Oh... and if you think that the pairing is Keima x Kaori or something like that then I wouldn't be so sure about that :)**

 **Anyway... is the Satyr (once again) defeated? Were there any more casualties? What will happen to Keima now? And where is Eri? To learn this (and more) you'll have to wait till Tuesday. See you till then!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Omake 2 (ideas like that, and many more, are born when me and my brother are bored):**

 **"Keima-kun! Please listen to this!" t** **he pink haired, and pink bodied Kanon Nakagawa said.**

 **Then she proceeded to perform her latest song, pouring all of her soul into reaching Keima-kun with it. And reached him she had... but not the way she had originally planned, because once she finished singing she noticed that Keima was asleep.**

 **"How dare you!" she said while** ** **removing the cap from her marker pen** , although what really came out of her mouth sounded more like "Jigglypuff puff puff!"**

 **\- several minutes of scribbling later -**

 **"Ugh..." Keima finally woke up. "What happened? Did I fall asleep? ARGH! My PFP!" he shouted, seeing his beloved console defiled with several doodles. "Well, at least there were no stun guns involved this tiiiiiime..." Keima trailed off, paralysed when Thunder Wave hit him. And then he heard something behind him.**

 **"Jiggly, jiggly... PUFF!" Kanon exclaimed as she unleashed Thundershock upon Keima.**

 **(well it should be Thunderbolt as Jigglypuff is unable to learn Thundershock. It can learn Thunder Wave though)**


	11. Flag 11: Between a rock and a hard place

**Hello, everyone! I'm back and I'm bringing you another chapter. And it's an important one. I mean the previous chapters were important as well and perhaps this one won't be the most important of them all either... but still it's _very_ important!**

 **Thus, I will keep the author's notes brief. I thank all my readers for their support. I also noticed that for some reason the views for the last two days accounted to zero and for both of my stories... I hope that's just fanfiction net issues again and that they'll be fixed soon. I have also managed to finish Flag 15 at last. It's not a great progress, but it's better than nothing.  
**

 **Let's not postpone any longer. Onto the chapter!**

 **(* * *)**

When Keima came to his mind was fuzzy. Was he lying? Where was he? He struggled to get a hold on a single coherent thought. And then it came back to him.

Abduction. Minami. Akari. Satyr. Kaori.

Kaori!

He tried to sit up, but his head immediately started to spin.

"Hey, easy, easy!" he heard someone speak and then force him to lie again.

Before Keima could do pretty much anything else his entire vision was filled with a familiar face.

"How are you feeling, nii-sama?"

"Eri?"

"He remembers!" his twin sister exclaimed in a happy voice. He sat up, slowly this time. Why wouldn't he remember? And who was Eri talking to? He turned his head to see Tenri sitting on a chair next to his bed.

His bed. He was in his room.

"What happened? Where is Kaori? W-" he didn't say anything more because he felt a strong pang in his head.

"Slow down, you idiot!" Diana said after switching with Tenri. "You need to rest!"

"Diana's right, nii-sama! Please try to calm down!" her high-pitched voice didn't make it easy. "One thing at a time."

As far as Keima didn't want to admit it, Eri was right. He needed to compose himself. What the hell was wrong with him?

"Alright, I'm calm" he told them. It was true, although his mind was still a total mess. "Now tell me what happened."

"We have won" Diana told him, not without some pride. "The devils from Satyr were defeated."

"That's the second time they were defeated" Keima remarked, his hand pressed to his temple. He had problems thinking... something that was unusual for him unless he was dealing with Yui. "How can we know they won't come after us again?"

"To be completely honest we can't" Diana answered. "And that's something you should ask Haqua about, but I think we completely destroyed their structure."

"And where's Haqua?"

"She and Nora-san went to New Hell. Bringing in prisoners. Explaining things. That kind of stuff."

"And what about Kaori?"

Diana looked to the side. "Apollo-neesama took care of her... but the last time I heard of it it was pretty bad. And that was twelve hours ago."

"Twelve hours ago?" Keima asked.

"Yes... the truth is you missed almost a day and a half and it's evening now" Diana said, pointing to the already dark sky outside. "Now... I know you try not to concern yourself with such real-life things like eating and drinking" she shoved a large plate full of food in his direction. "But you really need to eat. Now."

Keima was tempted to refuse, but now that she mentioned it he realized that he might've been just a little bit hungry. Maybe he should eat. I mean, if there were some other important things then they would've told him already.

"Don't eat so fast" Eri berated him when he almost choked on his food. "You need to chew properly!" she took a spoon and brought it to Keima's lips and then Diana handed him a glass of water and Keima gulped it down in one go. It felt really strange... Eri was feeding him something that was actually edible and Diana was offering him drinks instead of slapping him across the face.

Just don't tell him it was another illusionary world... He looked around half-expecting Ayumi to jump out of nowhere, offering a bentō for her "darling husband", but nothing like that happened.

Keima was quite adept at multitasking, so the fact that he was eating didn't stop him from asking questions.

"What about mother?"

"She's fine" Eri answered. "Satyr left her in the house. When she came to, she was panicked, but the New Hell modified her memories and also helped to repair the damage to the café. Mom was a little worried about you, but I used the regular excuse. And when Tenri came over mom was happy enough" Eri paused for a moment. "And father is going to come back home soon."

"And the others? Any... casualties?"

"Besides that Kaori girl? No. And no permanent damage either" Diana answered. "Haqua and Mars were wounded and I was as well, but now we're fine. And thanks to Minerva and Vul-neesama humans weren't hurt..." Diana stopped when Keima closed his eyes and massaged his forehead, as if he had a headache. "Katsuragi-san?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it" he looked up only to see the two girls exchange meaningful glances.

"What?" he asked, looking from one girl to the other, getting a bad feeling for some reason. "What is it? What are you not telling me?

In response Diana switched back to Tenri.

"K-Keima-kun" the shy girl started. "Do you remember the day when V-Vulcan-san defeated F-Fiore?" Keima nodded. "Do you r-remember what I said after I left?"

"After you left?" Keima asked and looked at her blankly. "I wasn't there. How could I remem-" he stopped when he felt another pang.

 _「 He didn't heave to apologize._ _」_

What the hell was that?

"Look at me nii-sama" Eri shook Keima in her direction and their eyes met. And then it happened again.

 _ _「_ Nii-sama is in a bad mood... I wonder if it's my fault._ _」_

"I think" Keima paused, because wording something that ridiculous was too much for him. "I think I can hear what you're thinking right now."

To his surprise Eri shook her head. "Not right now. Those are thoughts from the past. Remember how I was depressed after Hinoki-san's conquest? Try to _remember_ , nii-sama."

Remember? What was she-

 _ _ _「__ Elsie was sitting in a classroom. Eh! Nii-sama! He wants to invite me on date?_ _」_

 _ _ _ _「___ Elsie was heading for the rooftop of the Maijima East Elementary School. Nii-sama is incredible. He knows all sorts of things..._ _」_

"Wha-What is happening?!" Keima said while holding his head in his hands, but it didn't stop.

 _ _ _ _「___ Mio was inside her carriage. This guy is pretty loyal and he hasn't told anyone about my house either..._ _」_

 _ _ _ _「___ Kanon was charging her stun guns. I'm going to disappear again._ _」_

 _ _ _ _「___ Shiori was buried by the books. My voice won't come through. Won't come through..._ _」_

"Calm down" Diana, who switched back, grabbed him. "Don't go in too deep!" but it was too late, Keima was experiencing a slide show that was gaining speed as it continued.

 _ _ _ _ _「 Kusunoki.____ This world has too many cute things!_ _」_

 _ _ _ _ _「 Haqua.____ What is this? Just who is this guy? He is completely different from when I first met him._ _」_

 _ _ _ _ _「 Chihiro.____ I wonder if Ayumi was at Katsuragi's house._ _」_

 _ _ _ _ _「 Jun.____ I want to be that child's best teacher._ _」_

 _ _ _ _ _「 Tsukiyo.____ Keima does and gets me anything... but, but I never asked for it!_ _」_

The various scenes started to blend, making it difficult to comprehend them.

 _ _ _ _ _ _「_____ And, compared to that guy, Katsuragi-sempai is much better._ __」__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _「 Shut up! I_ _'m choosing the most lethal weapon! It's not worth letting him live! I'll kill him!_______ _ _」__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _「 Have you taken a liking to onii-san, Airi-chan?_______ __」__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _「______ I can already take care of the shop by myself. Why don't you retire, dad?_ __」__ _ _ _ _ _ _「_____ Ayukawa is just like a computer._ __」__ _ _ _ _ _ _「_____ Whose fault is that I was unhappy, until now? Have I... always... been walking on my own legs?_ __」__ _ _ _ _ _ _「_____ We'll continue to be vigilant. The enemy is already close._ __」__ _ _ _ _ _ _「_____ Give my back my child, you devils!_ __」__ _ _ _ _ _ _「_____ Far from it, it's no trouble at all._ _」_

And all after that was just a jumble of words and images. He could no longer tell things apart, places and faces becoming one, blending and spinning out of control and-

Slap!

Keima blinked. He was back in his room again and his cheek stung. It was Diana who slapped him.

"Thank you" he offered after a moment.

"You're welcome" the goddess responded looking away embarrassed.

"So what's going on with me?" Keima asked when he calmed down.

"Isn't it obvious?" Diana answered with a question. "What you experienced right now are all the memories Satyr has collected."

"What are you talking about?" Keima turned to her with an angry expression. "I saw the cube shatter."

"I'm not that knowledgeable about Hell's devices, but from what I know the cube was merely a container and without it the memories become unstable. They cannot exist on their own, so they searched for another container... and clung to a living mind in the vicinity" Diana explained. "The memories haven't properly settled yet, so don't look into them so recklessly... I have to hand it to you though... you didn't pass out."

"Is it so strange?" he asked. Was she trying to praise him?

"It is, nii-sama!" Eri was now flailing her arms in excitement. Keima was surprised she was even following the conversation. "When I try to access those memories I end up on the floor most of the time!"

This remark made Keima turn around in an instant. Wait, what?

"What do you mean when _you_ try to access them?"

"It means that Eri absorbed those memories as well" Diana explained. "And I did too."

Keima looked from one girl to another and that made the goddess smirk. The God of Conquest in fear and panic. It was precious to watch.

"How is that possible?!" Keima half-shouted when he could finally get a word out.

"I'm not sure, the mass of memories came from different minds, so I guess they were attracted to their original owners."

"Wait..." Keima stopped her. "You want to tell me that every conscious person in that room back there received a part of those collective memories?"

Diana furrowed her eyebrows. "Not, that's wrong on more than one account. First, every mind that absorbed the memories absorbed all of them, not just a part. Second, it doesn't matter if the person was unconscious, as long as the mind is alive the memories were attracted."

"As long as the mind is alive?" Keima repeated. "But that would mean everyone in that room knows everything. I mean... all the goddesses, Haqua, Chihiro... all the Satyr members. Lentrant."

"Yes, those Satyr members that survived did absorb the memories, but there's little to worry about. The New Hell modified them right away... although I heard it wasn't easy" Diana explained. "Of course, as you already know, the memories aren't really gone, only hidden, but the enemy shouldn't be be able to access them..." she then paused for a moment. "Oh, and one more thing wrong with your theory..."

"What?"

"Eri wasn't in the room back then, right?" Diana noticed. This made Keima look at his twin sister. That was true.

"Yeah" Eri replied. "At that time I was underground, I guess?" she smiled in a silly way, while scratching the back of her head.

"Wait, how is that possible then?" Keima asked.

"You're forgetting we're talking about memories here" Diana told him. "Physical obstacles like the walls of that room didn't matter. Even the Satyr's magic barrier did little to stop the memories from flowing. The memories are just like a wave, propagating as far as their range allows."

"Stop talking in riddles again!" Keima told her. "How much is that range?"

"Forty to fifty meters" Diana said and observed the look of pure shock on the gamer's face.

"That..." he mumbled out. "That means..."

"It means that more than a few _uninvolved_ humans got the memories as well" Diana told him. "The house serving for Satyr's hideout was not in a densely populated area, but still there were some people around. And they were stupid enough to gather around the house when they heard the sounds of the battle. Don't worry about them though – their memories were modified as well. Haqua-san told me that right before she took off to New Hell."

Keima looked at her for a few more seconds and then sighed in relief. "Why didn't you tell me this from beginning?!" he asked the goddess in anger. "It's not a problem if everyone's memories were modified."

Diana narrowed her eyes a little. "Who said anything about 'everyone'? I was talking only about Satyr and the passers-by. And some people like your mother. And Tenri's" the goddess added after a moment. "Haqua-san said for now she wouldn't modify the memories of anyone else... which means" Diana grabbed a piece of paper from the nightstand. "That at the moment those people still have the memories" she handed him the piece of paper. "Of course those people are not as intelligent and organized as you are, so I guess it'll be some time before they can even access those memories and they'll have much more trouble doing it than you do."

At this point Keima was no longer listening, staring at the piece of paper and skimming through the names of various people.

Nikaidō, Haqua, Nora, Rimyuel, Eri, the old man Shiratori, Yanagi, Yukie and that idiot buddy Ryō.

There was Keima's own name of course as well.

Just as there were the names of every conquest girl he'd ever targeted in the real world.

Eri waited for several seconds and, concluding that the God of Conquest already processed the information, tapped him on the shoulder. "Nii-sama?"

Keima replied immediately. With a yell.

"What do you mean they all remember?" Eri almost missed him yelling at her like that.

Almost.

"Uuu, it's not my fault, nii-sama!" she defended herself.

"Of course it's not just your fault"! Keima told her, only a little bit quieter. "It's yours and Dokurō Skull's! You both started this entire thing!"

"And if there's another person that did start this, then it's you, Katsuragi" Diana chimed in, then narrowed her eyes. "I hope you're not going to blame Tenri as well" the goddess lost her piercing glare as soon as Keima grabbed her by her shoulders. "Ka-Katsuragi?" she stammered out, her face pink. "What are you-"

"Haqua!" Keima half-yelled.

"Huh?"

"I need Haqua! Where is she?! Or Nora. Or Rimyuel. Doesn't really matter!" Keima said, while shaking Diana. "They _have_ to modify their memories! Now!"

Diana wasn't eager to listen to him... if her punching Keima and sending him into a wall were any indication.

"Get your hands off me, you brute!" she shouted back at him, using her hands to embrace herself as if protecting herself from him.

"Um... I think you went a little overboard, Diana-san" Eri said, while leaning over Keima. "Nii-sama is out cold again..."

(* * *)

"Eri-chan!" Mari Katsuragi said cheerfully. "Can you go fetch your brother? It's time for school."

"Yes, okā-san!" Eri replied and soon after that she was standing in front of the door to Keima's room. She sighed. She hadn't seen her brother since he had regained consciousness after Diana knocked him unconscious. And that was yesterday. Before going to sleep she had put her ear to his door and was a little relieved to hear the sounds of him playing his games. Yet, she continued to worry. She understood Keima's behavior, who could blame him? But still, she was worried.

Eri reached out to knock on the door, but she knocked on air when the door opened and Keima came out, looking completely normal, PFP in his hands.

"Umm... nii-sama?" she said, but Keima passed her as if she wasn't there. Was it a good or bad sign?

What followed was fairly normal breakfast for Katsuragi family, but Eri did notice Keima throwing furtive glances at Mari, who was behaving as usual.

"Are you alright, nii-sama?" Eri asked finally when they were on their way to school.

"Yes" Keima replied, not looking up from his game console. Eri tilted her head to the side. "Yesterday you weren't this calm..."

Keima didn't reply at first, continuing to play his games. "I was wrong last night."

"Huh?"

"This new ordeal looked like a deathflag... but after I thought it over it could actually be beneficial for me."

"Eh?"

Seeing Eri's confused expression Keima sighed, put away his PFP and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose in a familiar way.

"Let me teach you something useful" he started, his glazes shinning. "In the case of the goddesses hosts I was intending to tell them some things anyway, but I thought it would be annoying. However, thanks to this sudden flag that problem was solved. It isn't the perfect ending, but I guess it would do."

Eri didn't say anything, just listening to his explanation.

"As for the other girls..." Keima continued his monologue. "Under normal circumstances it would be bad if they regained the memories of their conquests. Why you ask? Because they would continue to think of me as their hero and they would still have feelings for me."

He suddenly stopped to point his finger at Eri.

"However! The girls didn't just regain the memories of their conquests! They will have the memories of my other conquests as well! In result the girls will realize I was deceiving them, because I was forced to. In other words, I will no longer be a fast-swimming sempai for Minami or a third knight for Nanaka! They'll learn that I never loved them and that I lied to them. None of the girls would like to know someone like me! And because of that I will finally be free!"

Eri didn't move, looking at Keima as if he had told her that Santa Claus and firetrucks weren't real.

"Of course there are downsides as well!" Keima either didn't notice Eri's expression or didn't care. "I'll have to make sure that the girls don't reveal the secret to other people. Also it would be awkward if they were to meet with each other. And the most important thing" Keima paused for a second. "Most of the girls would probably be _really_ angry with me. They will seek me out in order to beat me up! It'll be a pain in the ass, especially in the case of Ayumi and Kusunoki" Keima shuddered. "But this event will only happen once! The last obstacle to overcome! After that there's freedom! Maybe that's why Haqua didn't erase their memories! She is supposed to be a genius, so realized I could use this development!"

Keima proceeded to laugh maniacally.

Eri slowly processed his words. She didn't get all of it, but it was Keima we're talking about here. The God of Conquest. He was probably right, she thought as she followed him to the school... follow meaning walk a meter or two behind him, just out the range of the creepy aura he was giving off.

(* * *)

While the unfolding situation might be beneficial for Keima, it was still preferable to be on his guard to minimize the damage. Specifically, it would be best to avoid dealing with more than one girl at once... which would be hard to do in the case of goddess hosts.

Besides, if what Diana said was true, then most of the girls will take some time to fully realize what had happened. Hopefully, they won't bother him that soon.

Keima walked towards his classroom, eyes ever vigilant despite being glued to his console before stopping in front of the door. Here was the first problem. Chihiro, Ayumi and Kanon... he had to be extra careful or he'll end as a fried cockroach that was stomped on by an athletic foot.

And then he got an idea.

"After you" he said to Eri. She blinked at him and then shrugged before opening the door and walking in.

Keima waited for a few more seconds, but he could hear no more sounds beside the usual buzz of his class. So he walked in.

First observation – Kanon's seat was empty and a quick look over proved she wasn't hiding anywhere near. On the other side of the room Miyako was already talking with Eri, both girls being their usual happy selves. Ayumi was sitting with her head turned in the direction of the window. And Chihiro looked as if she was sleeping.

Keima sat down in his seat, not really sure how he should react. Did something go wrong and Ayumi and Chihiro didn't actually receive the memories? But if that was the case then why did they look as if they were avoiding him? And if they did remember... then why was he still unharmed?

Aah... they didn't want to make a ruckus in public. Figures.

That actually gave him some more time to think. How should he act? Definitely not _too_ cold, that would just backfire. Should he be sorry and beg for forgiveness? Or, he glanced at his sister, maybe Eri would prove useful as a smokescreen?

And aside from that, what he was supposed to do with Chihiro? His relationship with her was most probably repairable before, but now he wasn't so sure. It was one of the definite drawbacks of this entire incident with memories. Couldn't the real allow him to proceed at his own pace for once? No, of course not, the real would cut off every route with the girl before Keima could decide which of Chihiro's routes he wanted to follow, if any.

"Get in your seats!" he was brought out of his musings by Nikaidō's entrance. She was looking pretty much normal, except...

"Umm... Nikaidō-sensei" Miyako asked. "What's with those bandages?"

"Oh, that?" Nikaidō said. "It's just a little accident I had recently... don't worry about it. In a few days it'll be nothing, but a _memory_ " she added casually, but a smirk was playing on her lips, her eyes fixed on Keima. The boy in question flinched a little, not daring to break the eye contact, though he could swear he heard Chihiro fidget in her seat. Or was it Ayumi?

"Okay, enough of it... we have a backlog, so let's not waste time."

(* * *)

"Eri! Could we talk for a moment?" Chihiro asked with a big smile, waving to the former devil girl as soon as the bell for the break rang.

"Of course!" Eri replied, probably not sensing a dreadful aura emitting from Chihiro. "Eh? Are we going on the veranda?"

"Yes, it's a private conversation" Ayumi joined them, smiling as well. "Although I'm wondering whether we should invite someone _else_ as well."

Inside Keima's mind many chibi-Keimas were trying to escape through a narrow emergency exit.

"Do not panic! Make a single line! This is not a drill!" an officer-looking Keima with a mustache announced through his megaphone while directing the crowd.

With precision reminiscent of a robot Keima stood up, navigated through students, desks and chairs and went for the door. He hid next to it and then said in the best imitation of Eri's voice he could muster.

"Kami-nii-samaaa! Why are you trying to escape through the windooow?"

Some of his classmates looked at him with a strange expressions ranging from disdain to pity... but they quickly turned to surprise when Yui Goidō stormed into the room.

"Keima-kun, you won't run from me-huh?" Yui paused looking around, but by this time Keima was already outside the classroom.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, he thought. Not with three girls at once. He had to deal with them one at a time. Well, Yui was probably just being her usual self, but still...

Keima was walking through the corridors, as usual other students giving him a wide berth. This was happening too randomly. He needed to get control of the flags. All the flags. And raise them only one at a time. He should just hide for the moment and plan everythin-oomph!

Did he bump into someone? He looked in front of him, but saw nothing.

He looked a little lower.

He saw blonde hair. Two pigtails. A prominent forehead. And a pair of sharp golden eyes looking up at him.

He gulped.

Mio Aoyama.

"You better watch where you walk, you commoner" the girl said in commanding voice, although a little less bossy than he remembered.

"I'm sorry Aoyama-sama" he told her, observing her reaction and, to his surprise, she looked at him with (slight) content.

"Ooh? You seem to know your place, commoner!" she looked at him. "Wait... I know you!"

Keima tensed.

"You're the otamegane!"

He looked at her blankly. Didn't she remember? Maybe he miscalculated something.

"So I guess I'll call you otamegane" Keima rolled his eyes and walked past her. So it was just an empty route. He managed to make two steps when he heard her speak again.

"Or... do you prefer being called a _chauffeur_?"

At this Keima stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned back... only to see Mio playing with something. "Or maybe I should call you an _alien_? Nah... Aliens don't _dance_ " this something looked a lot like a horsewhip.

Keima didn't waste any more time and immediately turned again to run awa-oomph!

This time he didn't have to look down. Actually he had to look just a little bit up to gaze into eyes just as brown as his own.

Brown, beautiful and narrowed eyes of Kusunoki Kasuga.

Uh-oh.

 **(* * *)**

 **So, we finally get to the interesting parts! Well... we're not yet at the most important part of the story, but we're getting there. And I won't be lying to you – most of the things up till now were just for the sake of making the current situation possible.**

 **In result, Keima (with all his divinity and desire to be left alone) found himself between a rock and a hard place... Umm... I mean between Mio and Kusonoki xD. What will happen next? Will Keima survive the onslaught of two pissed aggresive-type girls? Read the next chapter to find out!**

 ** **I'm sorry for the lack of omake this time, but my current ideas are bad or simply too short to post them.****

 ** **Next chapter will be posted on Saturday and** drop me a review if you liked this one!**

 **See you next time!**


	12. Flag 12: Run, Keima, run!

**Hello everyone! I'm back as promised. As usual we start with a few (hopefully) short announcements.**

 **First: thank you for all your reviews, ideas and general support... and regarding one particular guest review: the title of this chapter was actually decided on weeks ago. Just so you know ;)**

 **...as a side note, I'm starting to get angry at fanfiction net for this views issue... it really gets on my nerves...**

 **I also assume that all my readers realize now why the story is titled "The World Not Only God Knows"... So, it's not just the goddess hosts who remember. Actually, it's more like "The World (Almost) Everyone Knows" xD**

 **Two more things. First, this chapter comes with a dedicated piece of music that I recommend my readers should listen to while reading this chapter, namely the "Benny Hill theme" ;)**

 **Second, quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger from the "Predator": Keima! Get to the chopper! xD  
**

 **(* * *)**

Keima didn't even move, rooted to the spot due to Kusunoki's hard gaze, but the girl softened it a little when she noticed Mio standing behind Keima.

"Aoyama-san?"

"Kasuga... sempai" Mio acknowledged with a bit of respect and then added when she noticed the other girl's uneasy expression. "Don't mind me, sempai..."

"Oh no" Kusunoki responded, averting her eyes a little. "You were here first... I can wait."

"Well, I cannot guarantee there will be anything left for you" Mio replied, hitting her palm with her horsewhip.

"Aaagh!" Keima shouted suddenly, his face turned to the side, an expression of fear on his face. "No!" he exclaimed. "Everything but her!"

Kusunoki and Mio turned at once to where he was looking only to see...

Nothing.

And by the time they looked back Keima was already gone.

(* * *)

Damn you real! Not only had he met the difficult ones, but two at once? Wasn't it a little too much? Shouldn't he start with Minami and... and... who? Most of the remaining conquests weren't going to Mai High (and hopefully were living too far away to bother him in the first place).

He looked over his shoulder. Maybe he shouldn't have run away? That only made him look more guilty of his crimes. He was making worse and worse route choices lately. Maybe the memories messed with his mind?

"Nii-sama!" he saw Eri in the corridor and immediately made a dash for her, putting a hand over her mouth. "Quiet!"

"Eeh? Fat's rong, mii-shama?" Eri managed to mumble out.

"I need to hide" Keima responded, looking around. Mio and Kusunoki will catch up to him. In fact, he could already see them in the crowd, no doubt searching for him.

"Here" Eri pointed to a nearby classroom. "It's empty. Maybe you can hide in here?"

For the moment Keima didn't have any better ideas. He walked into the classroom with Eri and hid under the window until both of his previous conquests passed him.

"Thank you Eri" Keima sighed in relief. "You were useful for onc-oomph!"

"Darling!"

Oh no. No, no, no!

"Get off me!" Keima commanded, but Yui only continued to glomp him.

"I know everything darling! With this there's no need for an explanation and we can move onto more important matters!"

"The hell we can!" Keima replied rudely. "Eri, help me!"

"I'm _sooo_ sorry, nii-sama!" his twin sister looked really troubled and the way she said it...

"Ahem!"

Keima turned his head around and had to correct himself. Eri wasn't useful. In truth, she was even more useless than usual, because in this "empty classroom" there was not just Yui, but also Ayumi and Chihiro.

"Hello, Katsuragi _-kun_ " Ayumi chanted, making Keima somehow relieved that he was standing outside of her kicking range.

"If it isn't our... how did you put it back then Yui?" Chihiro was quiet for a moment, pretending she was thinking deeply. " _Playboy_ " she was smiling by now and Keima rated it as one of the more terrifying smiles he had ever seen.

Kaori's smiles included.

"Ugh... I guess the 'I can explain all of this' line isn't going to work?"

"Why talk?" Yui told him, milking the physical contact while it lasted. "There are other ways to express your feelings!"

"Or lack of them" Keima countered. "Get off me! Eri! You traitor!"

His twin sister was crying comical tears by now. "I'm sorry! They made me do it!"

"That's right!" Ayumi stood up and approached them. "That's her punishment for deceiving us!" she eyed the female Katsuragi.

"But with this we're even, right?" the firetruck lover asked.

"Of course we are, Eri!" the runner hugged her.

"Why are you letting her off the hook so easily?" Keima asked. "She's the one who started all of this! Her and Dokurō Skull! And the latter died instead of taking responsibility and-" Keima stopped, looking outside the window and into the corridor. "Ugh... Nikaidō-sensei! I can explain!"

As he expected, Yui released him immediately when she heard Nikaidō's name and Keima didn't hesitate.

He run as if his gaming time depended on it... which it did.

"Yui! That was the oldest trick in the book!" Chihiro berated the cross-dressing girl. "Now we have to catch him again!"

"On it!" Ayumi told her, already preparing for a crouching start.

(* * *)

Ayumi was definitely faster than Keima, but she had trouble with changing directions, which the gamer exploited without second thoughts.

Out of the school. He needed to get out of the school. That was his only goal right now. Therefore, he paid little attention to the students standing in his way and even less to what they were saying.

"Hey, watch out otamegane!"

"Don't get close to me!"

"What's wrong? In a hurry to buy your next game?"

"KATSURAGI!"

The last one belonged to Mio, who entered the corridor behind him. And she did it with perfect timing, colliding with Ayumi, who was gaining on Keima.

"Thank you for your hard work, Aoyama-san!" Keima said and run out of the school, not paying any heed to the surprised looks everyone was giving him.

Keima run like the wind, only glancing behind him to see if Ayumi was on his tail. Thank good she was a sprinter and not a long-distance runner.

"Katsuragi!" he looked up only to see Kusunoki peer at him from a window on a third floor, some good five meters above the ground. She wasn't going to jump, right?

"Stay where you are!" she told him and leapt over the windowsill as if the third floor was nothing more than a regular street curb.

No, Keima didn't want to die, he still haven't played enough games! He didn't stop, he didn't look back. He didn't need to – he was hearing the younger Kasuga shouting after him. And she wasn't the only one. And then he heard a new, but familiar sound.

Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop.

A helicopter was floating in front of him and a figure descended from it on a rope like some character from a movie. Or game.

And the figure was Kanon.

 **(Author's note: I take it back. Keima, Do NOT get to the chopper! xD)**

"Keima-kun!" the idol shouted, but Keima couldn't figure out how angry she was. Yandere-level wrath was a possibility though.

He didn't lose all of his judgment skills, however, and continued to run in the idol's direction without stopping. And he was right. By the time he had reached Kanon she was already swarmed by her fans.

And the crowd was actually big enough to stop not only Kanon, but the other girls as well. Thank God they didn't have enough time to thoroughly plan this.

(* * *)

Somehow Keima managed to reach his house without his lungs giving out and without any traces of the pursuit. What to do now, he thought to himself as he entered the Café. Eri had betrayed him, so she was useless. Could he count on his mother? At least it was something.

"Keima? What are you doing home so early?" his mother asked him in surprise.

"Well mom... you see... there is a situation..."

"Oh, well... we can talk about it later. I could use your help now. I have a situation as well" Mari replied gesturing to the room.

Keima looked around. There were seven customers in the Café. Three of them looked normal enough: one middle-aged businessman, one older fellow and some woman Keima didn't know. The other four were girls. And Keima knew them. All of them.

Tsukiyo was sipping tea from some elegant-looking cup, her eyes closed, as if she was taking delight in the action. On the chair next to her Shiori was sitting and pretending she was reading a book, but her eyes weren't moving.

Minami was sitting alone by the table in the corner, looking embarrassed like she wanted to remain unnoticed. This was completely in contrast with the last girl, who was leaning back comfortably in her chair as if she was in her own home. Quite rightfully – after all Sumire's home was a restaurant.

"So many customers! This is a lucky day, right Keima?" Mari asked her son.

All four girls looked at Keima (Shiori did it from the corner of her eye), making him certain that he'd had luckier days. His mind didn't bother with "What are they doing here during school time?" or "Did they plan this ahead?". All his mind did was to search for the escape route. The route to the best ending.

And he was slowly realizing that "the best ending" now was equal to "the least painful ending".

Keima turned around in a blink of an eye and opened the door... only to came face to face with Tenri.

He panicked for a second, but then realized it was indeed Tenri, he could see her purple eyes instead of Diana's red ones. Tenri had always been supportive of him. If there was someone who could help him it was her.

"Tenri, help me please I need-" he stopped when he noticed a pair of hands land on the girl's shoulders.

"Hi there!" another girl with mushroom-shaped orange hair looked at him over Tenri's shoulder. "So ya really live here! I'm not that good with directions, but Ayukawa and her _god_ -like friend helped me get here. How've you been, my keima?" Nanaka Haibara asked as confidently and brazenly as usual.

"Umm... Keima?" Mari asked confused.

"I'll be gone for a while, mom! Don't look for me!" Keima replied, already running through the Café.

"Wait, tonkotsu!" Sumire made a dash for him, intending to catch him the same way he caught her twice in past, but he avoided it, making the ramen-lover land on the ground. Tsukiyo, who was right behind, stopped in time, but Nanaka didn't, tripping over the ramen girl and falling on her.

"Ugh! Why are people always lying or sitting on me!?" Sumire exclaimed before standing up and following Keima and other girls into the private portion of Katsuragi household.

Mari and the three normal customers looked at the entire scene with various degrees of shock and interest.

"Umm..." Minami approached the counter. "Sorry for the trouble, Katsuragi-san" she bowed in apology and then followed the other girls, leaving Mari dumbfounded.

(* * *)

Keima escaped his house using the other door and immediately heard a distinct panting sound.

"Ka... Ka... Katsu... raaagi..." Ayumi called his name between pants, clearly out of breath. It seemed that fear fueling Keima was stronger than whatever anger fueled her, because he just continued running.

"Wa... waaaait!" Ayumi half-yelled after him, but he was already gone.

He needed to get out of town for a while. Luckily the train station was located close to his house. He just have to get there and wait for a train.

He reached the station quickly and without any problems, but as expected this was real and not a game, so there weren't any trains waiting for him. Keima had no other choice than hide for the time being and hope a train would arrive before the girls catch up to him.

And four minutes later some train did arrive. Keima carefully approached the platform, cursing the fact that the train was taking forever to stop. He was just getting on it when he heard shouts.

"Where is he? Are you sure this is where he went? He couldn't have disappeared!" it sounded a lot like Chihiro.

"What if he already took a train and left?" this was definitely Yui.

"Excuse me, have you seen a glass-wearing boy running through here?" this voice could belong only to Minami.

Keima quickly got on the train and took a seat. Please, let the train leave before they find him. Then he'll be able to run, somehow find Haqua and beg her to erase everyone's memories.

Half a minute later the train was just starting to leave and Keima still didn't see the girls chasing him, when he realized he didn't know what train he had got on.

"Excuse me, do you know where this train is headed?" he asked the only person sitting close to him, trying to appear a normal smiling teenager.

"I don't know" the person answered. "I was originally planning to get off on this station".

Keima blinked. Looked closer. And then paled.

The person sitting in front of him was a girl his age with long flowing hair, wearing a dress and a lady-like hat on her head.

"It has been a _long_ time, _Kei_. Don't you think?" the seventeen years-old Urara Shiratori asked with a smile.

Keima didn't answer, his mind calculating whether the window was open enough and train moving slow enough for him to still jump out.

And his mind calculated yes.

"Whoa! Whoa! What are you doing?" Urara shouted when she saw him try to escape through the window. Then she grabbed him and pulled him back, a little too roughly, making him fall back into the car and hit his head, knocking him unconscious.

Again.

(* * *)

The first thing Keima noticed were the voices. For a moment he couldn't figure who they belonged to, but he stopped trying when he realized _what_ the voices were saying.

"Maybe we should tie him up?"

"Isn't this going a little overboard?"

"You're only saying that because you didn't have to chase him around! I'm not letting him get away again!"

"Calm down, I got this."

"Are you sure? Don't underestimate him. He's really smart."

"But he's physically weak. He won't escape. Just keep an eye at him."

"Aye aye sir!"

At this point Keima opened his eyes and realized he was lying on his stomach. He tried to stand up... but couldn't. Something heavy was on top of him.

"Oh, looks like he's awake!" the something on top of him said. Was it Sumire?

"Get off me!" he tried to yell, but his lungs were just a bit crushed and it came out closer to a whisper.

Sumire complied and Keima could breathe again. He quickly composed himself and stood up, judging the situation. What he saw was a big empty room with himself in the center... and thirteen teenage girls in a circle around him.

If someone ever asked him why he despised the real then this was it.

He quickly looked for openings or some way to make one, to make the girls argue with each other, so he could run. But he quickly realized there was no way that would work. They were too close, thirteen pairs of eyes fixed on him. At least he could no longer say there was only one eye and hair color in the real world.

"Where am I?" he asked. He could do nothing else. Not even walk backwards.

"Oh, this?" Chihiro gestured to the room. "The station personnel was kind enough to let us in here after we explained the situation to them. Some people are just that kind."

Keima paled. "And they didn't call the police when they saw a dozen girls drag a defenseless boy?"

"Well... they were saying something like that-" Tsukiyo started.

"But our celebrities" Sumire chimed in, pointing in the general direction of Kanon, Urara and Yui. "Persuaded them otherwise. Isn't that nice?"

"And like that nobody will be interruptin' us!" Nanaka said with a confident smile when she stepped in front of Keima.

So this was it. There was probably nothing he could do now besides begging for forgiveness.

"Okay, I'm sorry!" Keima all but squeaked. "Eri made me do it! Please don't hurt me!"

This earned him a few blinks, two pairs of widened eyes and several raised eyebrows.

"Hurt ya?" Nanaka replied with a confused look. "I don't wanna do that! Actually, I wanna thank ya for all those all-nighters! I shouldn't have been so obsessed with winnin' after just one loss." her expression lost some of its defiance, softening considerably. "You really helped me out! I would have said it sooner, but you were runnin' away!"

Keima blinked and continued to stare at the shōgi player who was now grinning at him.

"I-I think so as well" Minami said, directing Keima's attention to her. "T-thanks to you sempai, I can still swim and my performance is better than ever! So I want to thank you as well" she finished with a small voice and a look in her eyes that could only described as admiration.

"That's right!" Yui beamed at him. "It it hadn't been for you darling I would still be just a little quiet caged bird!"

"Well..." Urara started her eyes closed and haughty expression on her face. "I'm not exactly happy with our past encounters, those that _didn't_ really happen included" she then looked at him shyly. "But you did help me and you saved my grandfather from the loneliness. And from death. That certainly took some courage!"

"Not as much as jumping after someone from the roof" Tsukiyo wasn't looking at him and it was hard to blame her with all the blushing. "I guess I misjudged you. After all, I owe you my life."

"Yeah, that was not bad for a commoner... not bad at all" Mio chimed in, her hands crossed over her chest, her lips curved into tiniest of smiles and approval reflecting in her eyes, her horsewhip nowhere in sight.

Keima opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was like a person at the crossroads. He couldn't decide where to go because there was no route he could follow. The girls were... grateful? Something like this shouldn't... couldn't happen. There was no way all of them were going to thank him.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Kusunoki's voice.

"What are you talking about? Aren't you forgetting about something?" the martial arts girl exclaimed, walking in front of Keima, a determined expression on her face and Keima understood. He might've avoided damage from some girls, but still there were others.

"Don't you feel sorry for all the things Katsuragi had to suffer all this time? 'Thank you' is not enough!" Kusunoki continued while looking around and then faced Keima again... and bowed deeply.

"I, Kusunoki Kasuga, am deeply sorry for all the inconvenience I have caused you. Please forgive me!"

Keima looked at the girl bowing in front of him and tried to force his mind to get back to work and figure what was happening.

"Hey, hey, you don't have to grovel before him!" Chihiro said and pulled Kusunoki back. Then she blushed and looked downwards. "But you're right... I'm sorry for being a nuisance all the time. Shouldn't have called you a cockroach back then..."

She dared to glance at Keima only to see him looking back at her dumbfounded.

"W-what?" the guitarist asked, her cheeks darkening further.

"He's probably surprised you aren't hurting him" Mio said with a sneer.

"You're the one to talk" Keima said, pointing his finger at Mio, resulting in her and several other girls taking a step back. "I saw your horsewhip. I won't be fooled by your acting!"

Mio chuckled in response. "I never intended to use it on you. I just wanted to give you a little scare... let's say that was your punishment."

"What she said" Chihiro said, hands over her chest.

"However" Mio retrieved her horsewhip. "I you _want_ me to use it then I won't refuse" she said trying to act nonchalant, but her cheeks turned pink.

Keima continued to stand with his finger pointed at the former ojōsama, but he was unmoving, not knowing how to respond.

"Well, don't expect an apology from me!" Ayumi said defiantly, bringing Keima's attention to her. "I had every reason to be angry and kick you around!" she blushed as well. "But still you didn't deserve this... so... let's say we're even, alright?"

"I'm sorry for shocking you with my stuns guns" Kanon told him with a sheepish expression. "I'll buy you back the console I fried if you want" she added, color of her skin almost matching that of her hair.

"Well, sorry for making you eat sweet ramen" Sumire said, looking to the side.

"Ah!" Kusunoki exclaimed as if she remembered something. "I almost forgot! Aneue orde-wanted me to tell you that she's thankful for you helping both of us..." the girl hesitated... "And she wanted me to give you a very _specific_ token of gratitude" then her eyes narrowed. "But I'm not going to do it!" she barked.

At this there were some not very discreet chuckles and giggles and Kusunoki glared at some girls in response. But she still blushed.

Keima had been processing all that had happened just now at twice the usual speed, but his brain offered no answer beyond "does not compute". Finally, the brain asked for more data, so Keima turned around, looking for something, anything more _normal_.

But he saw nothing. No murderous or even angry stares. Not even from Tsukiyo, Ayumi or Chihiro. Actually the three of them were not looking at him and appeared almost _vulnerable_. The only ones more shy or embarrassed were Minami, Urara and Shiori... and maybe Kusunoki... The way Mio puffed out her chest didn't make any sense unless she was _proud_ of him.

And some of the girls were _smiling_. Keima continued to look around and finally his eyes rested on Tenri and he immediately remembered something, something she had said some time ago.

 _I don't think everyone will be mad at you. You were trying to protect everyone._

And Keima realized something else. Except that one time during their Romeo and Juliet performance and a few of her memories he had received, he had never seen Tenri smile. And usually they were those "I can't expect anything more so I'll be happy with what I have" smiles.

But now Tenri was smiling directly at him and this smile was different. It was unguarded, happy and... confident... as if she was saying "I told you so."

This conclusion was added to the entire picture, but it didn't solve anything, creating an even bigger mess in Keima's head instead.

What was going on? Was it some illusion? Was it Satyr? Was he to be sent into past once more?

"Keima?" Tsukiyo said, worried by his silence. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah" Sumire put a hand on his shoulder, her expression concerned as well. "What's wrong?"

Keima looked at the ramen girl in panic. No, it couldn't be like that. He was very happy to avoid punishment... but that way they won't disappear from his life. They can't be grateful or sorry, they have to despise him. Think, how can you do that?

Tap. Tap. Tap. A sound of footsteps made Keima turn around... only to see Shiori approach him.

Shiori. That's right. She was the only one who didn't thank him nor did she apologize. She was the one who thought of him as a no-good perverted cross-dresser. And her face... she was determined. It was that kind of face she made before a big outburst. And she only made big outbursts when she was angry. Yes, that was his salvation. Let her scream what she thought about him in front of all of them! Let it end this absurd event!

Shiori stopped and gazed at him, her hands clenched tightly on her book. Then she took a deep breath and uttered a single line that completely destroyed his world.

"W-will you go out with me?"

 **(* * *)**

 **Ta-da! To the surprise of (hopefully) all of my readers Keima is unscathed... at least physically, because his mind obviously cannot comprehend what just happened. xD  
**

 **He especially didn't expect to hear those words from Shiori. Oh... and if you think that Keima x Shiori is the main pairing then... I'm not telling! xD  
**

 **Actually, I hope none of you yet realizes where I intend to go with this story. All I can say for now is the story will not result in a harem ending.**

 **And just for the record – most of the scenes in this chapter were in my head for like forever ;)**

 **So... what will happen next? Will Keima turn Shiori down? Or will he accept her feelings? Will other girls get angry? Jealous? Competitive?**

 **Read the next chapter to find out! Also, the next chapter will be muuuch shorter (because of the strategically placed cliffhangers :P). I have one idea to make it longer, but it will still be short. And the next chapter will appear on Thursday.  
**

 **As always I kindly ask you for reviews – they really helping me stay motived.**

 **See you next time!**

 **(* * *)**

 **I originally hadn't planned for many omakes or for them to be** **pokémon-themed... or for them to be this long, but... it just happened. So here I begin a series of omakes for conquest girls, starting with Ayumi. I can't guarantee there will be enough chapters for all of them though...  
**

 **And I have a request for people putting comments on the omake in their reviews: I'm perfectly fine with this as long as you comment on the main story as well, because I really need that feedback on the main plot.**

 **Omake:**

 **Keima is playing his PFP. Suddenly...  
**

 **Doro! Doro! Doro! Console screen blacks out.  
**

 **Wild conquest target Ayumi appeared!**

 **Ayumi used tackle. Critical hit! Ayumi kept going and crashed!**

 **The PFP is damaged. Keima used rage. Keima's attack rose!**

 **Ayumi used Charm. It doesn't affect Keima.**

 **Ayumi used Substitute. It's super effective. Keima cleans the roof by himself.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Ayumi used Work Out.**

 **Elsie used Transform. Ayumi's shorts transformed into bloomers.**

 **Keima used Encore. It's not very effective.**

 **Ayumi used Mega Kick. Critical hit!**

 **Keima used Charm. But it failed. Ayumi used Glare. Keima is intimidated.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Lucky Chant. Ayumi used Screech.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima's cheering continues. No effect.**

 **Ayumi's sempais appear. Sempai used Torment. Ayumi's defense harshly fell! Ayumi's speed fell!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima's cheering continues. Ayumi turned away!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima's cheering ended. Ayumi's defense fell!**

 **Ayumi's friend used Taunt. Ayumi's friend used Tease. Ayumi's attack fell!**

 **Ayumi used Bulk Up. Ayumi used Quick Attack. Ayumi used Extreme Speed.**

 **Wild hurdle appears. Ayumi kept going and crashed! Critical hit!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Wild Ayumi appeared.**

 **Keima used Bestow. Ayumi used Fling (with an apple).**

 **Keima used Chatter. It's super effective. Ayumi is confused.**

 **Keima used Flatter. But it failed.**

 **Ayumi uses Barrage. Hit 5 times!**

 **Ayumi discovered Shoes. It's super effective! Ayumi is infuated with Keima!**

 **Ayumi used Holding Hands.**

 **Ayumi used Sweet Kiss. Keima is confused.**

 **The loose soul appears! Elsie used Imprison. Loose soul in custody!**


	13. Flag 13: Thirteen's a crowd

**Hello, everyone!**

 **I'm back as promised... but for a moment it looked like I won't be, because I was unable to log in to my account... bah! I wasn't even able to log out. Some of you are probably aware of this issue, but just in case – if some future chapters won't appear when promised it will probably be because of the technical problems of the site itself.**

 **It also seems that the views feature is back as well, but the views from the last several days are not visible. I knew enough about computers systems and software to not really expect them to miraculously appear, but still... I'm not happy about this.**

 **As always I want to thank you for all you reviews, follows and favorites.**

 **As a side note: Flag 16 is more or less done and I also made considerable progress with the parts of the story after that... I'm not sure in which chapter they'll appear though.**

 ** **Now, I presume everyone is curious what will happen after Shiori's surprising question last time, so** without further ado let's get to the chapter. **

**Enjoy!**

 **(* * *)**

Shiori's question was so ridiculous that everyone in the room went silent for several seconds. Keima was the best at thinking and therefore was the first to react. His reply wasn't the most intelligent one though.

"Huh?"

He had too much on his mind lately. He had been losing consciousness all over the place. He didn't have many chances to eat, sleep and, what's the most important, play dating sims. The lack of his gaming oxygen must be the reason he misheard her. Because there's now way Shiori had said what he thought she had said. "Could you repeat that?"

Shiori apparently couldn't, because her face, at least those little parts not covered by her book, was as red as her high school uniform and she was not able to utter anything more.

"Whaa!? Is that for real? What are you goin' to do, Keima?" as usual Nanaka wasn't holding back when voicing her opinion, which made several other girls blanch a little.

"Yes... Keima, what are you going to do about that?" Tsukiyo asked, her eyes narrowing a little, but it looked less menacing and more... envious?

"I would like to know that as well!" Minami said in a small voice.

"Sh-Shiori?" Keima started, but the librarian girl stepped backwards while breathing heavily.

"Looks like she forfeits!" Sumire concluded. Shiori livened a bit at that and shook her head no, but the ramen girl didn't see it. She still didn't remove her hand from Keima's shoulder. "In that case..." actually, she increased the pressure of her hand. "I would like to volunteer!"

"Vo-volunteer?" Keima repeated. "To what?"

"To be your girlfriend, silly" Sumire dropped the bomb with a smile and Keima dropped his jaw. "Let's make the best ramen restaurant ever! And don't worry, I won't feed you sweet ramen again... unless you ask" she added with a wink and a smile that could only be described as flirtatious.

By this time Keima has recovered enough to resist.

"What are you talking about?!" he exclaimed using his typical you-no-good-real voice.

"Ara? No good?" Sumire responded in her usual manner.

Keima felt the urge to facepalm. "Didn't you get the memories?" he asked.

"I did" Sumire replied with a little uneasy expression. "It was difficult at first, but now I'm fine."

"You're the lucky one" Kusunoki responded, arms crossed over her chest. "I still get confused if I think about it too deeply."

Shiori nodded her head furiously, making Keima wonder why her head didn't _explode_ with all of those memories.

"Then you should know" he told Sumire while stepping back. "I was just _pretending_ to be interested in your ramen. I don't like you. And for the most part I wasn't even _trying_ to make you like me!"

"It's fine" as usual Sumire wasn't the one to be easily discouraged by obstacles. "We'll make it work. Just give me a chance" she put her hands, both of them this time, on his shoulders again.

It was safe to assume that thanks to the memories the girls now knew his weakness to direct attacks Yui liked to use.

"Hey!" Keima heard a voice behind him and immediately regretted thinking about Yui. "How come you can touch darling and I can't?"

"Maybe it's because you're too forceful?" Sumire replied, her grinning face not so far from Yui's, which meant both girls pressed their bodies against Keima in a perfect example of being too forceful.

Ayumi glanced at Kanon, who, ironically, looked as if she had been shocked. The runner then turned to Chihiro and noticed that her childhood friend was already beyond being surprised and was getting more angry by the second.

"Help me! Anybody!" Keima said and, to his surprise, he was saved when Sumire and Yui were pulled off him by Nanaka and Mio respectively.

"Seriously, what point is there in apologizing if you just force yourselves against his will?" Tsukiyo said, her nose held high in the air as she approached him. "If Keima _truly_ chooses someone, then I'll honor his decision... but until he does so, no-one can just stake a claim on him. And even if he chooses someone else then no hard feelings! That doesn't mean I'm going to hold back. Let's have a fair match" she said, while looking at Shiori and the librarian nodded after a moment.

Tsukiyo nodded back and then turned to Yui. "So no cheap tactics, alright?"

"All is fair in war and love!" Yui replied, finger pointed at the petite star-gazer. "Or are you afraid to lose?" she added, snickering.

"Me? Losing to you? From all the girls here? That's the least I'm worried about" Tsukiyo replied with a confident smile... but then blanched when Kusunoki approached her, towering over moon-lover.

"Hey, hey! What do you mean _all_ the girls here?" the younger Kasuga asked, her face aflame. "You're not thinking I'm rom-romantically interested in this guy, right? Because I'm not."

"N-neither I am" Mio chimed in, her cheeks showing the faintest of shades of red.

Tenri didn't say anything, but the color of her face spoke volumes of her opinion on the matter.

"I think that's a load of bull, but if you say so..." Sumire replied, getting closer to Keima again, making him widen his eyes. "The less competition the better."

"Hey, no touching!" Keima told her.

"You heard that, ramen devourer? No touching!" Yui replied, while doing a lot of touching.

"Hey, didn't you hear what I said?!" Tsukiyo asked, her face now showing a little bit of panic.

"Keima-kun!" Kanon called from behind him.

"U-um... I w-was f-first!" Shiori tried to grab their attention, her face all red, waving her book around as if she was trying to scare the others away from Keima.

"Sempai!" Minami somehow managed to jump on him.

Keima knew this feeling. This was similar to the fuzziness he felt every time Yui approached him. Only five times worse...

"Help me!" he turned around, not without some difficulty with his limbs weighed down. "Ayumi!"

"Must be nice" the runner girl said in response, hands over her chest, blush on her cheeks and looking away.

"I hear you" Chihiro was looking the other way, her eyebrow twitching.

Keima stared at them in shock. "Hey don't ignore me, hey! Someone help me!" he glanced at Urara, who looked as if she didn't know what to do with herself, then at Mio, who was doing a dignified version of a face palm, then at Tenri who was smiling apologetically at him and at Nanaka, who seemed eager to enter the fray just for competition's sake.

"Anyone?" he said, but he was losing it with all the touching and then... it stopped.

"Huh?" Shiori exclaimed when she looked at the pile of people lying on the floor, Sumire, unsurprisingly, on the bottom.

"Not again!" she complained.

"Where's Keima? Where'd he go?" Nanaka asked.

The others looked closely and, indeed, Keima was gone.

"He did it again!" Ayumi said.

"Wait... I don't think he could _really_ become invisible" Kusunoki remarked. "Unless..."

The girls looked at each other with realization.

"Hagoromo!" several voices said at once.

(* * *)

Keima's vision changed into a blur of colors and he felt a rush of wind. He started to feel as if he was about to throw up and closed his eyes. It was somewhat familiar. Where did he feel it before? Oh right...

He had just met Elsie and she took him for a little flying.

Keima opened his eyes and, sure enough, he was flying above Maijima City. But how? It couldn't be Eri, right? His question was answered immediately.

"Hiii!"

He could recognize this greeting anywhere.

"Nora" he stated, not asked.

"You still remember me despite all that happened?" she asked. Keima could clearly see her now, as well as the hagoromo that was surrounding them both. "I'm honored, oh God of Conquest" she mocked him.

"Whatever" he replied, pulling out his PFP. She wasn't going to just drop him, right? "I suppose I should be thankful that you saved me just now."

"We can talk about you repaying me this favor later."

Keima wasn't even a tiny bit eager to repay her anything, but he chose to just ignore this.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"Why? Isn't anywhere better than where you were moments before? Although most men would take your place in an instant."

"Just answer the question. Where are we going?"

"Where do you think?" Nora replied with a question, but Keima already knew the answer, because they started to descend and moments later Keima was already on the ground, standing in front of some house.

Not that he hadn't predicted this kind of development, but he still had a lot of questions.

"Why are you doing here in the first place?" Keima asked.

"What do you mean?" Nora replied with a small smirk. "Are you this surprised to see me?"

"Don't play dumb" Keima said, his finger practically touching her nose, but Nora didn't step back. "How did you know I was there? Were you spying on me?"

"Well... that's not exactly wrong" Nora answered, grabbing Keima's hand and twisting it. "But don't worry, I don't want to kill you this time around" the pressure she applied on his shoulder joint told him otherwise.

"What do you want then? And when is your idiot buddy?"

"You mean Ryō?" Nora confirmed the obvious. "Unfortunately, he's fine and just as stupid and useless as usual."

Now where had Keima heard that description before? Ah... Eri.

"You didn't answer my question. You have some kind of business with me?"

"Not really" Nora told him. "At least not now."

"So you saved my on a whim? I don't believe it. You don't do things that don't benefit you."

"How could you!" Nora exclaimed theatrically with her hand pressed to her forehead. "Here I go out of my way to help you and yet you don't trust me at all!"

"Quit the act" Keima told her. "Does New Hell have anything to tell me? Is that why you brought me here?"

"I guess you could say so" Nora said in her usual snobbish manner. "And just for the record, I actually would have preferred to leave you there and watch. It would definitely be amusing" Keima glared at her. "But orders are orders, I guess."

"Orders?" Keima repeated. "From who? New Hell? Runaway Spirit Squad? Nikaidō?"

"How about you find it yourself?" Nora told him and turned around. "Well, I'll be going then. See you around, I guess" and with this she disappeared from his sight and left.

Keima had a lot of questions, but, he turned his head back to the house, it seemed this was the best place to ask them. He approached the door and rang the bell, thinking what kind of face should he make. A few seconds later the door opened, revealing a middle-aged woman.

"Ah, it's Katsuragi-san. Hello."

"Good day" Keima replied. "I'm sorry for disturbing."

"Oh no, not at all" if Yukie Marui was affected by the memories she received then she didn't show it. "We've been expecting you" she said while inviting him with a gesture.

Keima only nodded and entered the house. He was here only once before, but it looked exactly as he remembered it. He observed Yukie from the corner of his eye, but he noticed no anomalies or wounds. She seemed fit as a fiddle.

"Would like you some tea?" she asked him with her usual nice hostess expression.

"Yes, thank you" he responded, trying for a honest smile. It was the least he could do after all the things that happened.

"I'll bring it in a minute" she told him and headed for the kitchen. Keima then looked around. He was just a guest and Yukie didn't give him permission to walk around her house, but he knew what he was supposed to do.

He walked along a corridor and then stopped in front of some door. In fact, he was never here, but his memories told him this was the place.

He knocked twice on the door.

"Come in" a voice told him and Keima obliged. He entered the room, triggering probably the most logical event of this entire day. He walked to the chair, seemingly standing there just for him, and took a seat.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad to see you" he lifted his head and locked eyes with Haqua du Lot Herminium.

 **(* * *)**

 **Ta-da! Haqua is back! Will she be the one to finally unleash some punishment upon Keima? And what business does New Hell has with him anyway? What will happen to a dozen girls, several of which already displayed sustained affection for Keima (to his surprise)? What is to become of the goddess hosts? And Chihiro? Read next chapter to find out!**

 **Also since this chapter was so short (shortest non-prologue chapter so far despite the omake below) I will be posting next one on Sunday, but don't expect it to happen again – subsequent chapter will appear less frequently.  
**

 **As always reviews are appreciated! See you next time!**

 **(* * *)**

 **And here comes another omake, this time dedicated to Mio Aoyama, one of my favorites:**

 **Doro! Doro! Doro!**

 **Wild tsundere Mio appears!**

 **Mio used Pay Day. Mio obtained a Soba sandwich.**

 **Elsie appears!**

 **Keima used Confess. Critical hit! Elsie fainted! Keima receives 100 experience points.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Confess. But nothing happened.**

 **Mio used Double Team. Morita appears!**

 **Morita used Submission. Keima fainted.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Mio consumed Soba sandwich. Morita run away!**

 **Keima appears. Mio is confused. Mio's defense fell!**

 **Mio used Withdraw. Mio's defense rose!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Substitute. It doesn't affect Mio.**

 **Elsie used Transform. Bike's transformed into Carriage.**

 **Keima used Substitute. Keima is now Mio's driver.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Struggle. Keima used Rollout. Mio pretended not to notice!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Struggle. Keima used Rollout. Mio's defense fell!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima has no more PP left! Mio used Lucky Chant. Keima's defence harshly fell!**

 **Mios used Vine Whip. But it missed.**

 **Mio used Happy Hour. Mio's defense harshly fell!**

 **Mio used Withdraw. Mio's defense sharply rose!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Moonlight. Mio is confused. Mio's defense fell. Mio used Rage. Mio's attack rose!**

 **Mio used Holding Hands. Keima is confused.**

 **Keima and Mio used Lunar Dance. Mio's defense fell.**

 **Background mob characters appear. Mob used Taunt. Mio used Rage. Mio's attack rose.**

 **Keima used Chatter. It's not very effective. Mio used Mega Puch. Critical hit!**

 **Keima used Lovely Kiss. It's super effective! Mio is paralyzed. Mio is fast asleep.**

 **The loose soul appears! Elsie used Imprison. Loose soul in custody!**


	14. Flag 14: The offer

**Hello everyone!**

 **Here's another chapter of "The World Not Only God Knows"... maybe I should come up with a shortened title... like "Kami Nomi Nai" or something like that. xD**

 **Anyway, I thank you for all your support as usual – thank you all!  
**

 **As a side note, Flag 17 is half-done and I have also more or less finished Flags 18 and 19... or 19 and 20, because I'm not sure where they will appear. xD**

 **I think that's all I wanted to say for now, so let's proceed to the chapter. Enjoy!**

 **P.S. for ZelgadisGW: Nyan!**

 **_/\\_/\\_  
(=^_^=)**

 **(* * *)**

Just as Nora, Akari and Yukie, the valedictorian devil sitting in front of him looked almost exactly as Keima had remembered her. Still the same long violet hair with two strands pointing left and right. Still the same red eyes. Still the same proud expression. She was still wearing the same attire completed with the Scythe of Testament. Only one thing was missing – the armband of the district chief.

Not that he didn't know that.

Haqua remained quiet, as if she didn't hear him or didn't even acknowledge his presence. She could just be angry. And why not? She had a reason to be angry and it was her default modus operandi when around him. Besides, he should already be on the floor with the living daylights beaten out of him by eleven girls (Minami and Yui didn't count, but Tenri, or rather Diana, did). Yet he wasn't. In that situation getting pummeled by Haqua would actually count as being let off the hook easily.

And it was fine if Haqua stayed quiet for a while – he could use a moment to think things through.

"Are you alright?" he was brought out of his musings by the devil's sudden question. He blinked and glanced at her. She was looking a little peeved, but there was no denying the concern in her voice. Keima sighed.

"Am I alright?" he started, suddenly feeling the burden of the last day, last week or maybe even last year catch up with him. "Capturing runaway spirits. Having to kiss real girls. Getting kicked and punched around. Saving the goddesses... twice... Traveling to the past. Breaking hearts" he paused for a moment. "And after it all ended I learn that people didn't disappear from my life and they still pester me. And when I wonder if I should tell some of them a little more... wham! It turns out Satyr is back and before I can blink the memories are spread to everyone. And here's the real kicker" at this point he knew he was so not alright, because there's no way this kinda talk would've made him feel better. "I run out of the school only to get surrounded by thirteen girls that I believe want to kill me, then it turns out they are surprisingly _nice_. Can you imagine that? And not to mention these last few days I was passing out all over the city and barely had the time to play any games. So I'm totally fine. How about you?"

Haqua, who was looking at him closely throughout his entire speech, suddenly looked to the side.

"Oh, you know, the usual" she replied. "I return to New Hell after infiltrating Satyr's headquarters with my memory playing tricks on me. The Runaway Spirit Squad gets disbanded. I'm joining an investigation group to track down the remaining Satyr members. And we surprisingly find some traces that are too good to be true and too late we realize it's a trap" Haqua smiled at him as if she had been telling him some common gossip. "When I wake up I find myself in enemy hideout and wham! Before I know it the fighting starts and there I see you" Haqua pointed his hand at him. "Wondering how could I forget about you and then I'm back to New Hell to set things straight. And here's the good part" she half-rose from her chair and leaned towards him, a little too engrossed in her own story. "My memory starts to act again. I start to remember about some dunce devil and then I start to remember things I can't possibly remember. Something about my superior. About a certain teacher. A lot of... things" Keima was sure she meant to say 'girls'. "And I spend half a day trying to make any sense out of it. How about that?"

A silence ensued. Haqua looked at Keima with a challenging gaze and Keima responded with a glare on his own. The two geniuses continued to look at each other, each trying to remain calm, but only Keima managed a perfect poker face, while Haqua couldn't stop herself from cracking a smile.

"I guess we're in the same boat then" Keima remarked. "Or maybe not. After all I have pretty much no idea what had happened with the Satyr. I mean they had us in their grasp. How did you and... Rimyuel" yes, that was the name. "How did you manage to get free?"

Haqua's expression saddened.

"Actually, we didn't. Once again I let my guard down" she told him, looking at her lap in shame. "As you said, they had us. We couldn't do anything. Rimyuel. You. Me. We didn't free ourselves. We were freed. After that I suppressed my own power and waited for a moment to strike" she explained. "But I was freed. By her" Keima didn't need to ask to know who she meant.

Kaori.

"That girl" Haqua still wasn't looking at him. "She was a human, yet she managed to fool Satyr. She knew what she was getting into and she knew the risk... I think" Haqua finally looked at him. "I think she was prepared to die... No, she was planning to die there."

Keima opened his mouth to speak, but just then the door opened and Yukie walked in, holding a tray with two cups.

"Here you are, young'un" she placed the tray on the table.

"Umm... thank you" Keima said, expecting the older woman to leave immediately, but he was wrong.

"You don't look so good, Katsuragi-san" Yukie looked at him with a worried expression, then turned to Haqua. "I hope you're not being too hard on him, Hac-chan. He is our guest after all..."

"Yukie!" the violet-haired devil shouted, her face red, but Yukie turned to Keima now. "Forgive Hac-chan, she's always so proud, irritated and unapproachable, but she's a good girl. I think she got better after she met you."

"We're in the middle of an important conversation!" Haqua was now on her feet, trying to get Yukie out of the room. "And it's private!"

"Private? Oh... I see... I know that he's handsome and all, but-"

Haqua closed the door right in front of her nose.

Yukie didn't mind it though. Teasing Hac-chan was fun, the girl was much too uptight and insecure, so Yukie was glad whenever someone visited the violet-haired devil. After all, to her Haqua was like a genius daughter she never had.

Better leave those two alone for now, Yukie thought. So, she had a few days of a sick leave thanks to the recent incident, meaning a lot of free time on her hands. Now, what should she do? Maybe, some tai-chi won't be too bad.

(* * *)

"Diana had told me that everyone close to that building received the memories" Keima said, while sipping on his tea. "Is that true? I didn't see any changes with Yukie."

"Yes, it's true" Haqua replied. "I guess it just shows how Yukie is. She's a buddy, so it's not like she didn't see strange things, but at the same time she is a normal person with her everyday routine. I bet she barely notices it. It doesn't mean she isn't thankful for what you did."

"It wasn't just me" Keima reminded her.

"Well, most of the memories are yours" Haqua replied.

"What about Nora? And her buddy?"

"I think Nora doesn't really care about the details as long as she gets her credit, and the New Hell still thinks she played the important part" Haqua paused for a second. "Anyway, expect a lot of teasing from her" she said, proving she had been a victim of a fair amount of teasing as well.

"And that idiot Ryō?"

"Actually I have never met the guy in the first place... but I think I can safely assume that he's as idiotic as always. From Nora's babbling I presume he's apparently proud he helped you and Diana more than once... even if he doesn't realize he was more trouble than help."

Keima groaned. That was true.

"Okay, another question. What are you doing here? I mean you said the Runaway Spirit Squad was disbanded. I didn't see a collar on you or Yukie, but that's probably because I'm not a buddy anymore."

"Yes, the squad had been disbanded, but only because it was connected to Vintage and Satyr. There are many Weiss still here in the human world."

"And you're a part of the successor to the Runaway Spirit Squad, right?" it was a common development in a situations like this, even in the real. And thus Haqua's answer surprised him.

"No" she put her cup on the table. "I have been assigned a different task."

"Which is?" couldn't real be more straight-forward?

"To guard you."

"W-what?" Keima asked shocked.

"Why are you so surprised? We thought the Satyr was defeated, but we were wrong. What if they strike again?"

"And of all the New Hell _you_ have been assigned as my guard?"

"Well, in order for this to work the guard needs to be someone who knows you and is able to tolerate you and your ridiculous antics. No need to thank me" Haqua told him in an angry tone, but the effect was a little spoiled by her colored cheeks. Keima ignored this.

"In that case Nora or Rimyuel would be fine as well" he remarked.

"That's right. And that's why they're your guards too" Haqua replied, observing his reaction with a smile.

"And they agreed?" Keima asked after a moment. Nora had said she saved him on orders. Now it made sense.

"Well... you're kind of a big shot now" Haqua told him. "So it's obvious Nora would try to suck up to you a little."

"I'm not some official from New Hell. I'm just a human."

"Yes, but if Nora does her work badly, then it can damage her career, because I'm the leader of this operation" Haqua remarked proudly. "However, if she does okay, then it will look good in her resume in addition to helping the goddesses."

"And Rimyuel?"

"Her case is a little... strange" Haqua told him. "I mean she was the only one visibly happy after she received the memories. And when I say 'visibly' I mean it literally. I'm sure I saw her smiling."

That was indeed strange.

"She said that it was a great chance to 'study humans'... but it seems the more she tried to analyze the memories the less she understood" Haqua continued. "She probably thinks of this entire mission as a great research project. And just to be clear" Haqua narrowed her eyes. "It still _irks_ me that she has trouble remembering me and Nora, yet she remembers you."

At this Keima looked to the side and tried for another question. "Does she remember Eri?"

"I asked her that" Haqua said with a sly smile. "And that was the only time I saw the great Rimyuel-dono surprised and embarrassed."

"I wonder how _you_ looked like when you remembered about Eri" Keima remarked and noticed that Haqua's hand twitched in the direction of her scythe.

"T-that's not your business!" she answered, her head turned to the side, color invading her face once again.

"You said that Rimyuel is a part of my guarding group under your leadership, right?" Keima asked after Haqua calmed down a little. "Why would a royal devil like Rimyuel want to be a simple guard? I mean, doesn't it belittle her noble status?"

"A simple guard? It seems you don't realize how important you are" Haqua told him and smiled in satisfaction when Keima looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"You saved the New Hell. You've got the recognition of New Devils, including the famous ones like Rimyuel or Dokurō Skull. You were supported by the goddesses. You were deemed a worthy enemy by the Satyr. As a buddy you were paired with an idiot like Elsie and you were using 'love' to catch the Weiss, yet your record is still one of the best. I don't want to sound arrogant" Haqua looked at him proudly. "But if you were to be paired with me then we would be the best buddy-devil team _ever_ by far! Actually, your face is on a recruitment poster and some devils are planning to teach your _exploits_ during training. You're practically a celebrity in New Hell! A rumor even has it that you're not a human, but a god. And not only of conquest" Haqua explained with a voice laced with a mix of pride and jealousy.

And then she smiled when Keima face-palmed.

"And I just wanted to be left alone."

"Sucks to be you then, I guess" Haqua told him. "Any other questions?"

"Yes" Keima replied. "What of the others? I mean I thought Urara and Hinoki were both in the United States. So why Urara is here and Hinoki isn't? And what of Rieko? And Jun?"

Haqua remained silent for a moment, her eyes closed, a finger to her temple. She was probably trying to remember who were the people Keima was talking about.

"Aah" she seemed to recall them. "Well, about that. How should I say this. Maybe from the beginning. The number of people who received the memories, including Satyr members and passers-by was 52" she looked at Keima only to see him nod. "We immediately wiped the memories of the Satyr and passers-by, but not the others. Every remaining human received a message or rather a contract forbidding them from telling this to anyone unrelated. If they do, their memory will be wiped. If they don't accept the contract the same will happen. I don't need to tell you that everyone accepted the contract."

So there was no risk of the information spreading... but.

"I think Rieko is too old to understand such a contract."

"That old lady in the countryside? Not a problem. If she tells anyone then her memories will be altered. But I doubt she'll do that" she paused to think. "As for that teacher... what was her name?"

"Jun" Keima reminded her.

"Oh right... That's a funny one. I think she got a little bit embarrassed when she realized she kissed her own student and that some other people know about it. She'll probably try to avoid you."

That would explain why he hadn't met her today.

"And Urara and Hinoki?"

"We used teleportation magic, with the help of Mercury, to send them to USA quickly when they weren't even conscious yet. That's what I know for certain. But I guess the older one stayed there because she had work to do, while the younger got on the first plane and came to see her grandfather. And you."

So it was a pure coincidence Keima got on the same train Urara had used to travel to Maijima. She was probably with her grandfather right now. Assuming she wasn't looking for him with the other girls.

And that brought him to the most important question.

"So what now?" he asked. "I mean why didn't you modify the memories of all the girls as well? Why take the risk and waste energy to make contracts with them?"

"I said their memories will be wiped if they break the contract. I didn't say that they _won't_ be wiped if they don't break it."

"I don't understand. So then you decided to wipe their memories after all?"

"No" Haqua told him, her features more serious all of a sudden. "It's not my decision to make. Nor New Hell's. Nor the girls'. I mean they _have_ the right to decide, but New Hell normally wouldn't care about that... we would wipe their memories anyway. But not this time. This is a special case."

"So who gets to decide this?" Keima asked.

"You."

And then there was silence.

"What do you mean me?" Keima asked when he fully processed her words.

"Think of it as a reward" Haqua told him. "I mean I know this is not enough of a reward, but that's the least I could do. And you better be thankful! It wasn't easy to convince my superiors!"

"So I can decide whether the girls keep their memories or not?"

"Not just the girls!" Haqua huffed. "You can decide to wipe out the memory of anyone and everyone who knows as you see fit! And not just the memories they received recently! You can alter all the memories connected to the whole deal. It would be difficult to modify the memories of the goddesses, but we can do it."

"What do you mean everyone? I can't alter your memories, can I?" Keima replied with a huff on his own. Devils were a part of real and seemingly didn't make sense either.

"You can" she told him. "Mine. Nora's. The Shiratoris'! Even Eri's! But that's not all. The most important thing is that we can alter your own memories!"

"What?" he was shocked by now, his mind reeling. "But that would mean-"

"Yes, it's exactly as you think" Haqua interrupted him. "We can make it so nobody will remember about the devils or goddesses. Nobody will be aware of your involvement. Or their own. And I mean nobody. Not the girls, not Tenri, not me. Not even you" she explained. "You can stop being the one who saved our worlds and remain the otamega... or whatever you're called. Elsie, I mean Eri, will still be your sister and Tenri will still be your neighbor. But other than that you will be able to get your old life back."

After that the room went silent, the only sound being the ticking of the clock on the wall. The human and the devil remained still as well save for the occasional blinking.

"You don't have to decide now" Haqua told him a minute later. "But, if you want me to do it then the quicker you say so, the easier it will be to do it and-"

"No" he interrupted her.

"Huh?"

"I don't want you to remove any more memories... unless it turns that someone gets overwhelmed by them."

Haqua looked at him in surprise. "Why?" she asked finally.

Keima closed his eyes. He was quiet for a moment and then sighed. "Besides the fact that they deserve to know?" he asked. "First I was terrified they'll remember. Then I was glad, because I thought they'll get angry and then ignore me. I wanted to explain things to the girls with goddesses anyway."

"Then why not remove the memories of everyone besides the goddesses?"

"Oh, yeah? Like Tsukiyo and Yui know and Mio doesn't? No... it's all or none. It's only fair since I said I wanted to walk like everyone else. So it's everyone. Though I admit it will probably be troublesome..."

"You mean you're really going to get involved with the real?" Haqua asked.

"Ooh? You think twenty people are enough to drag me into the 3D world?" he narrowed his eyes at her. "Bring it!"

To his surprise Haqua didn't get angry, nor laughed. She smiled instead and in a way he had never seen before. It was almost as if...

"I'm proud of you, Katsuragi" she confirmed his suspicion.

He showed her a face of pure disgust, or at least he hoped so. And then he stood up.

"Is that all?" he asked. "If so, then I'll be going."

"No, it's not all" Haqua stood as well, facing him. "There are still some things left. But it won't take much time. First" she bowed deeply. "I would like to officially thank you for all you did on behalf of New Hell... and my own" Keima looked at her, but Haqua didn't raise her head. "Second, I would like to apologize."

"Don't be ridiculous" he told her. "Aside from Fiore nothing of this was your fault and you were plenty useful, much more than Eri was" Haqua raised from her bow. "And yes, you've been difficult to deal at times, but... it was my fault for not realizing... things."

This brought his mind to the one of more absurd things of all – Haqua had _feelings_ for him, even if she wasn't able to admit it, even to herself. What was even weirder was that it started so quickly after their first meeting. Of course, Keima had never planned to enter Haqua's route, so he was unable to notice those peculiar flags that have been happening, even if they were otherwise obvious signs of a tsundere.

He was God of Conquest, but only in the gaming world. Thus, he shouldn't feel bad for failing to notice some things in the real. But he did feel bad.

At this point Haqua was blushing, the red color nicely complementing her violet hair, possibly reaching the same conclusions as he was.

"That's right" she said. "It's true that I made some mistakes and was a nuisance to you. And I should be sorry for it... But... but... right now that's not what I'm apologizing for."

"Huh? Then what are you apologizing for?" he asked fed up with all the riddles, hands already reaching for the PFP in his pocket.

"For this" her response made Keima look up the very same moment she pressed her lips to his.

Haqua was very textbook-wise, well-versed in theory, but often lacked the practical means to do something, acting clumsy whenever she was doing something new. However, what she lacked in skills she made up for in fervor and conviction. That was just how Haqua was.

And this kiss was sooo Haqua.

She finally separated from him and Keima looked at her dumbfounded. If he had been the one who kissed her, then he would have been able to keep his cool, but he never had been able to stay calm when girls initiated the kisses.

He opened his mouth, but Haqua put a finger to his mouth.

"Don't say anything... I just _had_ to do this..." she said and it would have sounded pretty cool if she hadn't been blushing madly. And if she didn't sound so sad. She then turned away from him.

"Do-do you need anything else?" she asked.

He was surprised he actually managed to answer. "Y-yes" why was he stuttering? "Do you have the means to contact the girls? Like email addresses?"

He saw her nod. "W-we had obtained them, but I don't really know how to use those things."

"It's alright, just give them to me."

(* * *)

"Sōjinshita yo!" his PFP beeped, informing him that all the messages have been sent. With this Keima sighed in relief. Hopefully, this will give him a few days of rest and the girls will leave him alone.

Well, maybe except for Yui.

"Nii-sama!" he looked in front of him and saw Eri running towards him. So he finally reached his house.

"Where have you been nii-sama?" his twin sister asked innocently, but covered her ears when Keima shouted at her.

"Where do you think? I was running away from a horde of girls and then I had a long chat with Haqua. And no thanks to you, you traitor!"

"Aww!" Eri whined.

"And to top it all I cut school again. Mom will be mad."

"Oh... she was mad at first, but by now she's completely forgotten about it!" Eri told him. "She has other things on her mind now."

"Like what?"

"Father is back."

 **(* * *)**

 **So here we have a long and meaningful chit-chat between Keima Katsuragi and Haqua du Lot Herminium.**

 **And Keima gets his biggest character development yet... I wonder if he's happy about that.**

 **Also after some 240 flags of KamiNomi (counting from Flag 27) and 14 flags of my fanfiction Haqua finally, finally gets a kiss! ^^  
**

 **Well... that took a while.**

 **Oh... if you're wondering if Keima x Haqua is the main pairing then... who knows? xD**

 **And Keima's father is back! I wonder how his relations with Eri will look like... Read the next chapter to find out! I plan to post it on Friday.**

 **As always you're free to drop my a review and favorite/follow the story.**

 **See you next time!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Here's another omake, this time for Kanon! It was difficult (although probably not as difficult as Shiori's will be), but it proved interesting. Enjoy!**

 **Doro! Doro! Doro!**

 **Wild idol Kanon appears!**

 **Kanon used Chatter. It didn't affect Keima.**

 **Kanon used Charge. Keima is loafing around.**

 **Kanon used Thundershock. Keima is paralyzed.**

 **Elsie apears. Elsie used Fangirl. The PFP is damaged.**

 **Elsie used Chatter. Kanon used Overhear. Kanon now knows Keima is in the same class.**

 **Ping! Huh? Kanon is evolving!**

 **Tu-tu. Tu-tu. Tu-tu. Tu-DU! Tu-tu. Tu-tu. Tu-tu. Tu-DU! Tu-tu. Tu-tu. Tu-tu. Tu-DU!**

 **Ping! Kanon evolved into Yandere Kanon!**

 **Yandere Kanon's defense fell! Yandere Kanon's sp. attack rose!**

 **Yandere Kanon used Thunderbolt. But it failed.**

 **Yandere Kanon used Grudge. Yandere Kanon left.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima obtained the CD.**

 **Disguised Yandere Kanon appears.**

 **Yandere Kanon's getting pumped. Yandere Kanon used Sing. Keima pretended not to notice.**

 **Yandere Kanon's defense harshly fell! Yandere Kanon's sp. attack sharply rose!**

 **Kanon used Charge. Keima's defense fell.**

 **Kanon used Thunder. But it missed.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Disguised Yandere Kanon appears again.**

 **Yandere Kanon used Sing. Keima began to nap! Keima is fast asleep!**

 **Kanon's defense fell! Yandere Kanon is evolving again! Yandere Kanon evolved into Ghost Kanon!**

 **The loose soul used Phantom Force. Ghost Kanon vanished instantly!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Praise. Ghost Kanon turned back into Kanon! Kanon is visible again!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Kanon appears! Kanon appears! Kanon appears! Keima is confused!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Kanon appears! Kanon appears! Kanon appears! Keima is paralyzed!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Kanon appears! Kanon appears! Kanon appears! Keima fainted!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Kanon turned into Ghost Kanon again!**

 **The loose soul used Phantom Force. Ghost Kanon vanished instantly!**

 **Elsie obtained Loose Soul Detector. Elsie used Lock On. Kanon is visible again!**

 **Kanon used Helping Hand. Kanon used Sweet Kiss. It didn't affect Keima!**

 **Keima used Chatter. Kanon's fans used Growl.**

 **Kanon used Ancient Power. All Kanon's stats rose!**

 **Kanon used Farewell Kiss. Keima is confused.**

 **The loose soul appears! Elsie used Imprison. Loose soul in custody!**


	15. Flag 15: Evening conversations

**Hello, everyone. I'm back with another chapter of... uh... KamiNomiNai?  
**

 **And, as the title suggests, it will be mostly talking this time... not that it's anything new.**

 **Not many announcements this time, just that the chapters up to Flag 20 should be done before the weekend is out... I hope.  
**

 **As always I thank you for all your support.**

 **And yes, the beginning of this chapter is a slight reference to the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.**

 **Here we go!**

 **(* * *)**

Compared to the ideals found in games the real was boring. After all, in games the schools tended to feature aliens, time travelers, espers and similar things while real schools consisted of a swarm of mob characters where blond hair color was rarity, overwhelmed by indistinguishable mass of black and brown. Despite that Keima had seen a fair share of strange things with varying level of weirdness and absurdity. Those included devils, magic and time traveling among others.

Such things usually left Keima more or less surprised. He had been surprised when Elsie had appeared in his life. He had been surprised to find Chihiro, Miyako and other people he originally considered mob characters start to talk and interfere with his life. And some of such things and experiences had been particularly weird. Like the way he felt when he observed Eri – a dreadful formed devil superwea pon – fangirl over a firetruck. Like the chill he felt every time he saw a doll that even barely resembled Luna. Nikaidō was a fine example as well – after learning she's the very same girl he had kissed (repeatedly) in another timeline he was certain he'll never be able to look at her the way he used to.

In short Keima had seen and done a lot of strange, disturbing and ironic things. But none of them felt as strange and unnatural as the sight of his own father and Eri hugging and greeting each other as if they had been doing it their entire lives.

Well... the parts of their lives when his father was actually home to be exact.

"Dad!" Eri exclaimed, while embracing her father. "How was your trip?"

"How is my little girl doing?" Keiichi Katsuragi asked back, his beaming smile almost as radiant as Eri's.

"Aww... isn't that sweet?" Mari asked, the question directed to no-one in particular. Keima wasn't so certain – it looked weird for a high schooler to be picked up like a six-year old child.

But then again Eri acted like she was six most of the time...

"Keima! Come here my boy" Keiichi crushed him with a hug, similar to how his own father Denma would do.

"Welcome... back... father" Keima said, trying to breathe.

"Alright, sit down everyone" Mari interrupted them. "It's dinner time!"

(* * *)

"So, how's the school?" Keiichi asked between bites and received a slight bump on his head from Mari.

"Eat with etiquette!" she told him. "Not talking with full mouth" but it was obvious that her husband and daughter were in too good of a mood for her scolding to be effective.

"It's fine" Eri answered with her usual enthusiasm. "With a group of friends we had created a band and turned it into a light music club. We even performed a song during Mai-High festival and with Kanon-chan!"

"Kanon Nakagawa, the idol?" Keiichi asked only to see Eri nod in obvious pride. Keima narrowed his eyes a little at that. Creation of 2-B pencils and all that resulted from his was mostly thanks to him and Chihiro. "That's wonderful! And how about your grades?"

Eri immediately deflated, fiddling with her fingers. "Well..."

"They're not so wonderful" Mari said. "It seems Eri needs to try harder. If there is something she should learn from her brother, then it's the academic ability."

Keima looked at his mother. _If_ there is something? Is she trying to tell him that he was a bad older brother? Hmpf! As if he cared about such issues of the real.

"So Keima is doing fine, right?" Keiichi asked. "That's my boy!"

"Yes, honey, his grades are stellar as usual... although I think he had been missing school lately."

"Is that true, Keima?"

Keima didn't reply. What was he supposed to say? That he was missing school because he had to deal with goddesses, Satyr and a swarm of girls?

"Yes" Mari replied instead of him. "Like today. It's barely noon when I find Keima back home. And before I know it he runs out, followed by a swarm of girls."

Keiichi briefly choked on his tempura. "Keima and girls? Did I miss _that_ much when I was abroad?" he asked looking at his wife.

"I'm just as lost as you are, honey" Mari replied. "I don't know whether I should be overjoyed or suspicious... after all I don't want my son to turn into a playboy."

"It's not like that" Eri said in his defense. "Nii-sama is just popular like that!" Keima looked at her, waiting for her to mess up. "The girls probably just want to... you know... heal him from his nerdiness" there it was.

"Is that so?" Mari asked, tossing a worried glance at her son. "In that case they have my support as long as they _succeed_."

"Mom..." Keima groaned. Was him not playing games during dinner a mistake after all?

"Oh, give him a break" his father said.

"So" Mari turned back to Keiichi, a deceptive smile on her lips. "How long are you going to stay this time, honey?"

(* * *)

The dinner was long over, but the family continued to talk. Right now Keiichi was telling the stories from the last six months, his talk only occasionally interrupted by Mari or Eri. And he had surprisingly many stories to tell. Most of them weren't even boring. Keima took advantage of this one-sided conversation and had pulled out his PFP. Despite that he continued to listen to everything. And every time he could play the game without looking at the console he raised his head to glance at his father.

Keiichi Katsuragi looked mundane enough – an embodiment of the real. He had this bright and easy-going disposition, something that Keima obviously didn't inherit, at least not in this form. However, he did inherit other things like his father's hair and eyes, even though Keiichi's hair were a darker shade. And if his father had bed hair he took much better care of it than Keima did.

Keiichi was now telling a story from when he was in Brazil. Before he was telling a story from Mexico, but it didn't surprise Keima at all. After all, if there was something that was invariable in his father's work then it was traveling, although he was never away for that long before and Keima briefly wondered whether his half-a-year journey was Dokurō Skull's doing or not.

It was also not obvious what his father's job really was. In general, he was writing articles. All kinds of them. Some may call him a journalist or a publicist while others might call him a writer. He had a long-term employment, yet he was a freelancer at the same time. If sounded contradictory, but it wasn't. All it took was an extensive knowledge, resourcefulness, ability to adapt and multi-task and Keima was more then certain he inherited those skills or at the very least learned them from his father. That may be true for his conquering skills as well – Keima had to wonder about that every time he had thought how his mother and father met and married. And last, but not least, Keiichi's job was profitable – after all the money Keima used for his expenses came mostly from Keiichi, despite the fact Keima called them the M-funds (it was mom who distributed them).

Now, Keima tried to ignore the real. No, that wasn't entirely true. By default the God of Conquest wasn't really ignoring or avoiding the real. Yes, he thought of it as vastly inferior and actually pitied people who couldn't embrace the ideal of the 2D. But Keima didn't normally despise or ignored real, he only did it when real (usually in the form of his classmates, teachers or Elsie) interfered with him first.

Still, even if Keima was to wage an open war with real, even before this entire Hell & Heaven business, his family would still be spared. Yes, he was annoyed with his mother's antics and her attempts to raise him like a normal child. Yes, his parents weren't exactly the ideal ones you would find in games. And Eri definitely had a long way to go before becoming a proper sister.

But they were still his family. It was different than his heroines. Keima was attracted to them and would love to meet girls like them and let them become a part of his life. But family was different – even if he had the chance to gain a new family from one of his games he wouldn't do it. Would he transform his family to digital form if he could? Probably. Would he replace it? No.

"So Keima" his father turned to him when Mari and Eri started to clean the table. "Has anything interesting has been happening lately?" he asked.

Keima remained silent for a moment, his PFP propped on the table, his mind devising a proper route to follow here. Where to go and where not to go. What should and shouldn't be mentioned and in what way.

And how to keep Eri outside of this particular conversation before she can mess anything up.

(* * *)

"Yes, mom. Yeah. I'll remember" Ayumi said before finally closing the door and turning back to her guest, carrying a plateful of snacks and drinks.

"Sorry, my parents have been a little stern lately because of... you know."

"Yeah" Chihiro answered and took a sip from a small bottle instead of dwelling on this particular topic. They were currently in Ayumi's room, seating on a floor. Chihiro had said she was visiting to talk about their band, but it was mostly an excuse for Ayumi's parents. "What a day it was, don't you think?"

"Which part do you mean?" Ayumi asked. "The running? The railway station? Or the teachers' scolding afterwards?"

"No... I mean the part when my head is a total mush."

"So you too, huh?" Ayumi replied. "I try not to think about it. At least not the parts I haven't reached yet..."

"Yeah, this entire story seems completely unbelievable, right?"

Ayumi shook her head. "Seriously, I wouldn't be able to believe it... if it weren't for the fact that a lot of things make sense now. Honestly, what I find hardest to believe is the fact that Katsuragi managed to do all of this... I mean, I know his smart and capable of... things... but still, it's incredible."

"Yeah, that guy may be a insensitive creep and a total weirdo, but he has determination, skill, talent and luck. And he has all of those in spades. I'll give him that" Chihiro said before grabbing a fork and taking a slice of deliciously looking cake. She might need to go on a diet after this... or maybe she should start running. Nah, too much of a bother. "So... what will you do now?" she added.

"Huh? W-what do you mean?" Ayumi replied with a question.

"You know exactly what I mean!" Chihiro pointed the fork at the runner like a sword. "You still have feelings for Katsuragi, don't you?" Ayumi opened her mouth to speak, but Chihiro continued. "You know I was on Akanemaru back then when... you and him... yeah. You've seen that in the memories, so there's no point trying to pretend otherwise. Besides, you're really bad at lying Ayumi" Chihiro added with an amused expression.

Ayumi looked to the side, her cheeks turning pink. "In that case you should also know that I'm rooting for you. You don't have to worry about me."

"Of course, I should worry about you" Chihiro answered. "You're my childhood friend!"

"Well then... what will _you_ do?" Ayumi countered.

Chihiro blinked at then scratched her hair, brow furrowing. "I'm not sure..." she started. "Some time ago I thought it was simple... The crushes come and go, so this one will be the same. But it didn't go. Then I thought I will simply get rejected" she reached for another treat. "But now... now I can see just how much I managed to underestimate this whole situation."

"What do you mean?" Ayumi asked.

"Do you seriously think it can work out? Me and him, I mean?"

"Of course it can!" Ayumi said before something occurred to her. "Are you concerned about those other girls? That they'll steal him from you? You shouldn't! None of them managed to get as far with Katsuragi as you! You're the only one that made him really care!"

Chihiro smiled bitterly. "Thank you" she started. "Yes, I know I have some sort of... advantage over them. And no, I'm not afraid they're gonna steal him. At least not now. No, I'm concerned with something else."

"Like what?"

The brown-haired guitarist sighed. "Remember the beginning of the year? When I was confessing to a lot of guys? I wasn't serious with them. Not one of them."

"But now it's different!" Ayumi exclaimed. "You're feelings are genuine this time! It's serious! And Katsuragi likes you back."

Chihiro grimaced. "Yes, and those two things are the problem."

"Huh?"

Chihiro took a breath before she spoke.

"My previous crushes weren't serious. And I wasn't serious. This time this crush is serious, so I should be serious as well."

"You mean you _aren't_ serious?" Ayumi asked with disbelief.

"I am serious" Chihiro replied. "But not enough. Not even close. Once I learned that Katsuragi likes me I thought that it'd be fine. But then something occurred to me."

Ayumi was quiet, waiting for her friend to continue.

"All those... conquests. Remember how Katsuragi was always pretending? Well, maybe not always..."

"Yeah, I remember" the runner replied, trying to keep her voice calm.

"What if" Chihiro turned to look at the runner, her expression worried. "What if right now I'm doing to Katsuragi what he's done to me?"

Ayumi looked at her in confusion. "I don't follow..."

Chihiro fidgeted.

"I mean... Katsuragi doesn't know a jack about love in real-life. How could we know he is serious? Hell, how could _he_ know he's serious? Okay, he might like or even be attracted to me. He might even believe that. But is it real? And what he likes me for? For making fun of his world? For defying him? For calling him a cockroach?" Chihiro said, looking downwards. "Right now it feels like I'm some sort a nuisance that kept hitting him on his head for so long that it actually stuck in there" she looked up. "I don't want him to like me because I'm a thorn in his side" she summed it up.

Ayumi remained quiet for a moment, while Chihiro took another drink, her face red. "Well, shouldn't you... um... try to fix it then?" the runner asked.

"I thought about it... but... I haven't been able to figure anything" the guitarist said and sighed. "There are three possible choices if this is to work. One: he pulls me into his world and makes into one of his heroines – and I hope that's impossible. Two: I drag him into the real world... or three: we meet somewhere in between."

"The last option sounds reasonable" Ayumi noticed.

"Yeah, but there is one problem" Chihiro raised a finger. "Katsuragi knows all about love in the gaming world. Hell, he might be insensitive and ignorant of the real, but even he's going to notice when I approach him... he'll see... how would he call it? Raising a flag. On the other hand, do I know all about love in the real world? No."

Aymu didn't reply, mouth slightly open. She was beginning to see where Chihiro was going with it.

"It's obvious that for this thing to work I need to know how to act with him... but I don't... And recently I have realized... those crushes of mine. What if any of those guys said 'yes' back then?"

"Uh... I don't know... you would have gone out with them?" Ayumi tried.

"No, I would probably be stupefied and turn them down! You get it? I would turn down the guy I asked out in the first place! Even if I didn't I wouldn't know what to do with them and I would probably die from embarrassment. It wasn't serious. With Katsuragi it's supposed to be different. I'm supposed to be different... yet what I have been doing? One failed date back when nothing was what it seemed like" Chihiro was quiet for a moment, both girls recalling the events of the Mai-High festival.

"It was so simple when he was just a creepy, rude, good-for-nothing otamegane. Back then going out with me would be a privilege or so I have thought" Chihiro continued. "But now it turns out he is some sort of hero... well, more like anti-hero. He has helped us much more than we realized. And he suffered for it. That single 'sorry and thank you' we did today is not going to cut it." Chihiro paused for a moment as if hesitating. "The truth is I feel I _could_ get him to go out with me now if I tried... but that's not how it's supposed to work. I need to have something to offer him... beside laughing, poking and calling him names."

"I get it" Ayumi said after a moment. "At least I think I do. That was a little too deep for me."

"I hear you" Chihiro replied, brighting up immediately. "That's what happens when you get your head full of memories of people smarter than you" she laughed. "Ah, by the way. Did you seriously tell Yui to leave Katsuragi alone or you'll tell me?"

"Yeah..." Ayumi averted her gaze.

"And you really thought I would get mad and then what? Threaten to kick her out of the band?"

"Yeah... after all music is her salvation or something like that" Ayumi replied. "Although I was hoping she wouldn't try to call my bluff."

"I can't believe it works... or worked. Seems like with the memories revealed Yui no longer has any reason to hold back."

"Yeah, but let Katsuragi worry about that."

They both laughed at that, the previous mood forgotten until Chihiro went quiet.

"Say" she started sheepishly. "Could I possibly... umm... meet her?"

Ayumi looked at her confused. "What do you-oh" she understood. "Yeah, no problem... as long as she isn't sleeping" Ayumi stood up, brought a small mirror and placed in on the floor. "Mel?" she said, seemingly to no-one in particular, but a second later the surface of the mirror flashed and a sleepy face of a girl with dark skin and silver hair appeared on it.

"Yeeees?" Mercury said.

"Whoa!" Chihiro exclaimed. "So this is a goddess?" she paused when Mercury turned to look at her. "Umm... hello... I'm Chihiro Kosaka, umm... nice to meet you."

"Likewise" the goddess replied, trying to suppress a yawn.

"So a goddess of the Mai-High Unguided Missile is really a sleepyhead" Chihiro remarked.

"I can travel pretty fast when I need to" Mercury replied albeit without a sign of offense. "I am the messenger of the gods, after all."

"I _knew_ you were real... but seeing you in person is something else..."

"Well, if you want to see me in person... that can be arranged" Mercury told her. Then she disappeared from the mirror and the very same instant Ayumi's entire being flashed briefly. Chihiro's eyes squinted, then opened and then widened – where Ayumi had been just a moment ago now Mercury was stretching her arms like she had just woken up from a nap.

"Wow" Chihiro said, getting closer. "There is a halo. And wings. There are real wings!" she remarked, while Mercury observed her lethargically.

"Can I touch them?" the brown-haired girl asked.

"I don't see why not."

Chihiro nervously touched the small wing. They were made of feathers. Real white freaking feathers.

"Hmm... I expected them to be bigger-whoa!" Chihiro exclaimed when the wings suddenly grew. Now they were the size of the goddess herself.

"My power depends on Ayumi's affection" Mercury said. "Given enough love my wings would be several times bigger."

"Several... times?" that would be reaching the rooftop of Ayumi's house from the ground. And then there was another flash and Ayumi was back.

"I would love to talk some more, but I really need my beauty sleep" Mercury said, her face back in the mirror.

"What are you talking about?" Ayumi said. "You sleep most of the time anyway."

"Well, maybe that's because someone is running all day long and burns a lot of energy?" Mercury replied, but with a small smile. "Anyway, good night to both of you girls."

"Good night" Chihiro said. "And thanks for protecting Ayumi... and all of us."

"This is what I do" Mercury replied. And then she was gone.

(* * *)

"What a day" Ayumi said to herself as she plopped down on her bed half an hour after Chihiro had left. She stayed still for a minute and then grabbed her phone, browsing through her emails, until she found the one she was looking for.

 _To whoever it might concern,_

 _I need to take care of several important things and I would be thankful if I could ask for a few days of peace. Thank you in advance._

 _Keima Katsuragi_

Ayumi wondered how many people besides her and Chihiro received this message. Then she sighed. She told Chihiro she was determined to root for her and help her in any way possible. And she was telling the truth. But it didn't change the fact that she still had feelings for Keima. Her heart still fluttered every time she thought of him. He had deceived her and pretended to be someone else. That fake Keima she had fallen in love with didn't exist and that was over... The problem was she was perfectly capable of falling in love with the real Keima too. It wasn't how she had envisioned her first love.

Scratch that, if it wasn't for Chihiro Ayumi would've tried to fight for Keima's affection, even if it the chances of winning were slim. But not now. Now there was nothing left for her, but to grit her teeth and move on. She couldn't risk her friendship with Chihiro. Besides, the band leader won fair and square, so there was nothing to regret.

But it still hurt.

Somehow she managed to fall asleep. It was well over midnight, when her window started to move, creaking ominously as it opened. Seconds later a shadow loomed over the sleeping track and field girl. This new figure started to whisper softly in a language that was foreign not only to humans, but to devils as well.

Immediately after that Ayumi's body flashed and Mercury took her place once again.

"Huh?" the youngest goddess asked confused and opened her eyes only to see...

"Vul-nee-sama?"

In front of her Luna was floating in the air.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour" the doll said without moving her lips. "But I have a favor to ask."

 **(* * *)**

 **So we finally get to see Keima's father, although I'm not sure that I presented him correctly. Moreover, I can't guarantee he still be at home next chapter ;)  
**

 **Next, we have a conversation between two childhood friends that both have feelings for Keima. All in all, it went rather well. Or did it?**

 **Finally, what could be this favor Vulcan is asking of Mercury?**

 **By the way, lately I've been immersed in the events that happen in later chapters, so going back to this chapter in order to edit it for posting felt... weird. Maybe it's just a weird chapter...**

 **Also sorry if the pacing seems slow, I can't really do much about it.**

 **And, as always, reviews and other kinds of support are very much appreciated.**

 **I plan to post the next chapter on Wednesday.  
**

 **See you next time!**

 **(* * *)**

 **And here goes another omake, this time for Shiori. Just as expected it was fairly difficult, but the effect is... acceptable. It could be worse.**

 **Elsie used Book. Elsie is infatuated with firetrucks!**

 **Wild bookworm Shiori appears!**

 **Elsie used Chatter.**

 **... ... ...**

 **Doro! Doro! Doro!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Shiori used Bestow. Elsie obtained 458 books.**

 **... ... ...**

 **Keima used Mind Reader. But it failed.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Shiori used Grab-A-Book. But it failed.**

 **Keima used Assist. Shiori is confused. Shiori said "thank fyou" in her confusion.**

 **Keima used Provoke. Shiori used Rage. Shiori's attack rose!**

 **Shiori used Echoed Voice. Shiori said "S-stupiiid"!**

 **... ... ...**

 **Keima used Mind Reader. It's not very effective.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Fujidera suggested a visual booth. Shiori used Bulk Up.**

 **... ... ...**

 **Shiori failed to voice her opinion!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Sketch. Shiori used Rage. Shiori's attack rose.**

 **Shiori used Snatch. Shiori used Echoed Voice. Shiori said "Id-id-iddiiiooott!"!**

 **Keima used Mind Reader. It's super effective!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Sketch. Shiori used Focus Energy. Shiori's getting pumped!**

 **Keima used Disable. Shiori's ability to speak is disabled!**

 **Shiori used Skill Swap. Shiori's inner and outer voices are now reversed!**

 **Shiori used Thief. Shiori left with Keima's book!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Shiori used Mean Look. Shiori used Chatter.**

 **Keima used Attract. Shiori sat in front of Keima.  
**

 **(* * *)**

 **Shiori read the note. Shiori used Fury Swipes. The notes is torn to shreds!**

 **Elsie used Recover. The note is back to normal!**

 **Keima used Foresight. Keima can see the ending!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Shiori used Sketch and wrote a warning. Shiori used Protect. The library is now protected!**

 **Fujidera used Roar. Shiori is intimidated. Shiori's attack harshly fell!**

 **Elsie used Horn Drill. Elsie used Dig. Keima appears in the Library.**

 **Keima used Double Team. Keima is now protecting library with Shiori.**

 **Keima used Milk Drink.**

 **Fujidera used Black Out. Shiori is confused! Shiori used Wrap in her confusion. Shiori now clings to Keima!**

 **Shiori used Struggle. Shiori and Keima are now buried by books.**

 **Shiori used Chatter. Keima used Counter.**

 **... ... ...**

 **Shiori blacked out.**

 **Keima used Helping Hand. Keima dug Shiori out!**

 **Keima used Surprise Kiss.**

 **... ... ...** ** **  
****

 **... ...  
**

 **...  
**

 **.**

 **The loose soul appears! Elsie used Imprison. Loose soul in custody!**


	16. Flag 16: Hitchhiking

**Hello, I'm back and I bring you another chapter. And it's the largest one yet – over 5500 words not counting author's notes and omake.**

 **As per usual I thank you for all your support, but I couldn't help but notice that the number of reviews dropped lately and I'm not sure why. If there is something wrong with the story I would like to know. Thus I encourage you to review, especially if you hadn't done it so far.**

 **Concerning the frequency of updates. For now I plan to stay with "one chapter per 5 days" policy, but I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it. If I run out of chapters on hand then we'll probably switch to "one chapter per 2 weeks" policy and I don't want that... Of course reviews can supply me with additional motivation, but they won't magically increase my amount of free time... :/**

 **Also, for those of you asking yourselves "where this story is going?" I have simple answer: have patience. We're getting there. Just a few more chapters.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(* * *)**

"Conquest completed!"

Keima raised his head from his console and surveyed his surroundings. It was a fourth heroine already. How long they were going to have their practice session?

As if on cue, the music stopped. Several seconds later the door to the club room opened and Ayumi and Yui both emerged from inside. Keima flinched a little bit when he saw the masculine goddess hosts, but his yesterday email proved successful – none of the girls bothered him today.

At least not directly, because Keima was almost certain he saw Minami observing him when he was walking through the courtyard and he could bet she wasn't the only one. This made him wonder. Several girls have displayed obvious signs of affection. That was bad enough, especially since those girls for some reason continued to like him despite knowing the truth.

No, it would be more accurate to say they started to like him anew.

As for the other girls... who knew what they were thinking. The situation could still escalate quickly...

"See you tomorrow!" Miyako waved her hand and then left with Eri. So the real chose to cooperate with him for once.

Keima entered the club room. Now was the harder part. He had planned this entire event of course, but from the beginning he knew this was pointless. It always was when it came to her.

"Hey" he started awkwardly. If Chihiro had been expecting him then she didn't show it – instead she turned around, almost dropping her instrument in the process.

"Ka-Katsuragi?" she stammered with wide eyes. Keima raised his eyebrow at that.

"Are you that surprised to see me?"

"Yes, no... Umm... I mean..." she blushed and looked away.

A set of dialogue options popped up in Keima's head, but none of them seemed appropriate. Especially not the one aiming for making fun of her vulnerability.

"Anyway" Keima said, not looking at her. "I just wanted to-"

"Make sure that I'm not pissed?" she interjected. "That I didn't give up? Don't worry. I'm not. And I didn't" she walked up to him. "Well... I am a little bit pissed when I think about some parts of the memories..."

"And are you sure you accessed all the troublesome parts?" Keima asked cautiously.

"Probably not" she replied him with a smile. She smiled a lot when she tried to brush some things aside. But this smile looked like a genuinely happy one. A little provocative and mischievous, but what else could he expect from Chihiro? And then her expression turned more serious.

"Have you decided what you want to do?" she asked.

"No" he admitted. "I just know that I don't want you to misunderstand again... and I don't want to rush things."

"Good" she told him, putting her guitar over her shoulder before looking at him embarrassed. "Cause thanks to all this recent events it dawned on me that I'm not as ready as I should be" she then came closer and jabbed him on the chest with her finger. "But that doesn't mean you're free to do as you please!"

"Then it might be a good thing to tell you that Kaori and Haqua had kissed me. Without my permission of course."

Chihiro scrutinized him. "And you didn't _provoke_ them in any way?"

"No..." he paused for a moment. "And Rimyuel kissed me as well, but I guess you know about that already."

"Yes" she narrowed her eyes. "I know about _every_ kiss you had with her. And a dozen other kisses as well..."

"You know I had a that explosive collar, right?" he tried to defend himself.

"You could still say something about it!"

"Weren't you the one who said that those 'previous guys' didn't matter?" he reminded her own words from the festival.

Chihiro stayed still for a moment and then averted her eyes.

"Well, it's not like I really care" she said, her face red and lips pursed, making a big flashy "Tsundere alert!" sign pup up in Keima's head.

Why hadn't he seen it before?

"I need to get going, so I guess I see you around" she said. "But I'll be watching you, so you better behave. You got that, otamegane?"

"Is that going to be your pet name for me?" Keima asked, certain that his eyebrow was actually twitching.

"I didn't think of that. Good idea" she replied with a cheeky smile.

Real and its shenanigans...

"Now get out, I need to close the club room."

(* * *)

Keima got off the bus good five minutes ago, heading towards one place he was determined to visit today, his eyes glued to his console as per usual, but his mind was elsewhere.

So he had confirmed that Chihiro was fine and wouldn't go ballistic on him. What he couldn't understand was why was she so forgiving? Was she feeling bad about treating him poorly all those times? Was she trying to get on his good side? Was it because she was worried he was going to choose someone else and not her?

How absurd. He wasn't supposed to choose anyone at all! Still, if he was to choose then Chihiro was the most apparent choice... for reasons he didn't actually understand. And shouldn't she be thankful? God of Conquest himself was considered conquering her for real.

Hmpf, what a crappy game it was.

Keima stopped and looked up from his console, examining the façade of the building before him. So he has reached his destination. He put away his PFP and walked inside.

"Good day" a middle-aged woman said when he approached the reception desk. "How may I help you?"

The conversation went smoothly and Keima was able to obtain both the information and permission he wanted. It was to be expected – after all Haqua had told him what to say shortly after Yukie had left the room back when he was visiting the violet-haired devil.

Maybe it was because of the building's size or maybe Keima was just that good, be he managed to conquer another heroine before he found the room he was searching for. Two figures were sitting on the chairs nearby. They looked inconspicuous enough, but Keima would be able to figure they were devils guarding the room even if he wasn't told about it before.

When he approached the door the guards, obviously females, eyed him suspiciously, but then they flinched, looked at him wide-eyed as if not believing and then started to whisper to each other. Keima was certain they were talking in Hellian until he heard the word "god". He ignored it and faced the door, inputing a code on the electronic lock and then knocking before grabbing the handle and finally entering the room.

He knew the room wouldn't be empty, after all he came here to meet someone, but he wasn't expecting another person to be there.

"Tenri?"

"K-Keima-kun?" the dark-haired teen asked startled and stood up from her chair.

"What are you doing here?" Keima asked. Well, it wasn't really that unreasonable for her to be here – actually in any other situation such behavior was something he would expect from Tenri. But not in this case.

"Umm" the girl was fiddling with the bubble wrap she was holding. That felt kinda nostalgic, when was the last time he had seen her doing that? "I-I'm here just to k-keep c-company... I-I mean to make s-sure everything was a-alright."

Funny thing. Recently Keima got used to viewing Tenri as more assertive. She had gone through so much and with so little negative side effects. Yes, she wasn't as tough as a trunk of a tree. She was more like a blade of grass – small, modest and inconspicuous. When confronted with a gust of wind she yielded quite easily, seemingly unable to resist the powerful element. But even though she bended, curved and wriggled she never broke. Flexible, yet relentless. Gentle, yet strong. And this whole ordeal only made her stronger.

The funny thing was – while she had become more firm and confident when it came to talking with people or even devils it seemed that Keima's presence still was sufficient to break all of her defenses and reduce her to a shy, quiet and stuttering girl. For example right now Tenri was blushing madly, panic mode on and obviously embarrassed, as if she had been caught doing something naughty, as if she wasn't supposed to be here.

She continued to stutter out explanations and Keima didn't really have to listen to know she was making excuses on the spot. Well, she was one of the few people able to see through his mask, so it's only natural he was (somewhat) able to do the same. It must've been showing on his face because Tenri went silent, realizing she wasn't fooling him. This only served to fuel her embarrassment and she quickly went past him.

"U-um... goodbye K-Keima-kun."

And then she was gone before he could reply. He was kind of relieved though – originally he had feared his relationship with Tenri will become weird (well... weirder, as it was weird enough already), but it seemed it wasn't like that. Tenri was-

"That girl has a screw loose" a new voice interrupted and Keima turned around. "Otherwise she wouldn't waste her time caring about someone like me."

"So you're conscious" Keima said, seemingly completely ignoring the previous comment. "That's good."

The girl lying in the hospital bed either averted her gaze or wasn't looking at him from the beginning. Keima moved to sit on the very same chair Tenri was sitting beforehand and spent a few seconds to observe the lying girl.

Well, "girl" might not be completely accurate at this point. Ten years ago she was a six grader, so now she should be twenty two or something like that and it was showing – Keima was able to recognize her, but not without some trouble, especially since he had little idea how she looked at seventeen for example.

And he couldn't see much of her either – all of her body, except her head, was hidden by bed sheets. While brown hair color was common (even Ayumi had brown, albeit very dark, hair) it was usually darker. This girl had hair lighter than Keima, Chihiro or Kusunoki. Of the brown-heads only Minami had lighter hair.

Keima couldn't see the girl's eyes and she rarely opened them, but from what he remembered they were light brown as well. So, the curtains matched the window, huh? It seems even the real had some standards after all.

"Kaori" he said, trying to get the girl's attention. At first she didn't move, most probably trying to ignore him. No matter, Keima had his PFP with him, so he could stay here for as long as he needed. Stalling would do her no good.

"Why are you here?" she asked when Keima was about to reach for his console.

"Isn't it obvious?" he replied, starting a game. "I'm doing the same thing Tenri was doing. I'm checking on you."

Even though Keima said this he was still surprised. Kaori did some bad things to Tenri and tried to do even worse things, yet the goddess host had decided to visit her. Well, it's likely they weren't enemies anymore, but it was still weird. On the other hand, Keima was right now doing pretty much the same thing.

Kaori huffed. "I'm not asking _what_ are you doing. I'm asking _why_ are you doing it" her speech was strange, as if she couldn't decide whether she wanted to keep her voice cold, angry or neutral.

This actually make Keima wonder. Kaori was originally a devil queen archetype type of heroine. She had been left alone and survived by valuing only herself. It was a bit similar to Tsukiyo, but unlike the star-gazer – who just isolated herself from the world – Kaori manipulated and used others in order to ensure her own happiness.

In result the girl became practically self-sufficient, crafty and perhaps even nihilistic. And evil. Usually she could control herself very well, looking down on others, but could also snap when someone tried to challenge her as her equal. And this was where the problem started.

Kaori was really smart for her age and beating her was not easy for Keima. Especially with child versions of Chihiro and Ayumi appearing at the worst possible timing. And not to mention the "seed" that Kaori managed to plant into Tenri without Keima realizing. But still, Keima managed to expose Kaori, outsmart her and bring her to her knees...

But he never really conquered her. Actually, before her conquest Kaori was genuinely interested in him. Yes, she wanted to make Keima her minion, but it was the way she showed affection – she would make him her one true underling. Right hand. Maybe even lover.

And then Keima defeated her. Kaori broke down when faced with the possibility of becoming the vessel for a runaway spirit. Keima brought her down, but never followed to complete her route. In result, not only she didn't fall in love with him, but was humiliated, so it was logical for her to hate him afterwards.

And this led Keima to his current dilemma. He knew what to expect from the Kaori before the conquest. He also knew what would happen to her if he completed her route. But now Kaori wasn't the original evil queen and she wasn't a conquered heroine either. She wasn't a six grader anymore as well.

So what exactly was she now?

"Because I want to know how you're doing" Keima answered Kaori's question and then briefly looked up from his PFP. "I'm not going to let you die now."

"Oh, right" Kaori said, this time making her voice cold, dry and sarcastic. "You hate the developments where people die, right?" she looked at him with a mixture of anger and disappointment.

Keima stood up and approached her bed.

"What are you-oww!" she exclaimed when Keima poked her forehead with his console. Not too hard. But not too lightly either. "What the hell was that for?!"

"So you still have a badmouth, huh?" he remarked and sat down again. He looked at her angry expression.

"Don't say things like that" he told her, sending her a glare as well. "It's true that I hate people dying, but don't you dare think you're just a normal person to me."

"W-what's that supposed to mean?!" she barked.

"You saved us" Keima told her.

"I was just trying to help myself."

"Yeah, right" he narrowed his eyes at her. "You said you prepared for years and now you're telling me you helped us by accident?" she looked away in obvious anger and Keima continued. "Without you we would have definitely lost. And you _really_ had a shot at becoming an ally of the devils... Yet you choose to help me instead... even though you played with me for the most part."

"Weren't you the one that said I could play with you anytime I wanted?" she asked.

"Yes" Keima replied. "And I'm glad you choose to do it when you did" he hesitated for a moment, not sure how Kaori would react to what he was about to say next. "Thank you."

There was no reaction. Well, it was better than her yelling and cursing.

"I don't really know about how you grew up" he said after a moment. "Or how you fared for the last ten years, but at the very least it looks like you're no longer evil."

"Shut up!" Kaori shouted, for the first time trying to raise from her lying position, but it was still impossible for her. She was looking at him with a glare and her face red from either anger or embarrassment. Or both. "I've got you to kneel before me, so I won in the end!"

Keima considered his options for a moment and then dared a guess.

"Are you bitter?"

"Huh?" she seemed confused. "Bitter? You mean do I regret helping you? Probably" she grinned at him evilly, but she widened her eyes when she noticed Keima smiling. And it was her first time seeing him do that.

"No, I don't mean that" Keima told her. "I mean that you planned to die after all this. That way you would be able to both help me and avoid meeting with me afterwards. Yet, you survived. Are you regretting living through this?"

While he was speaking Kaori's expression was getting more and more surprised.

"No, I'm not" she told him, but her answer was almost meek and Keima was actually confused by this. Too close to a yandere route. Better change the topic.

"Anyway, from what I heard you'll need to stay here for a while" he gazed at the device that was placed behind Kaori's bed. The devils placed the girl in a regular human hospital, but the device itself was definitely some piece of technology from Hell. "But you'll be fine. You had a lot of luck. We all had."

Kaori didn't answer, too busy gritting her teeth. Something then occurred to Keima.

"You said that I hate developments where people die" he noticed. "I never told you that... so I assume that means you... received the memories as well."

Kaori didn't say anything this time either, but her averted eyes told Keima what he wanted to know and... Wait, was she... blushing? No. That's probably just anger or something... Maybe he should be going, he spent too much time here anyway.

"I'll try to visit you from time to time. And I'm sure Tenri we'll come as well" he stood up. "Unless, you want to be left alone."

"Like I care. Do what you want" she finally replied. This definitely wasn't the friendliest response, but considering it was Kaori it would do.

"Oh, that's right" he said suddenly and started to rummage through the contents of his backpack. "I almost forgot..."

Kaori looked at him in confusion only to see Keima retrieve a small bag and place it on Kaori's nightstand.

"I suppose you're not well enough yet to use this, but I don't know when I'll be coming again, so I'll leave it here now."

"What's this?" Kaori asked, narrowing her eyes.

"A PFP. And a few games."

"Huh?" she asked surprised.

"I told you before" Keima pushed his glasses up. "Your mistake was making light of games. You need to learn to play difficult ones and those here should prove hard enough."

"Whaa?" she asked, this time genuinely surprised. "You want me to play _games_?"

"Of course" he told her. "Otherwise we won't be able to have an even battle."

"B-battle?"

Keima sighed when he saw her bewildered expression. "When we were facing each other I was five years older and I had known a lot more than you, yet you still were a tough opponent" Keima explained. "We may be on the same side now, but I'm still looking forward to competing with you in the future" he was already by the door.

"So, get better soon, I'll be waiting" he told her and then opened the door to walk out... only to come face-to-face with the two guards outside, who immediately jumped backwards. Keima looked at them in surprise. They were obviously eavesdropping. That was something new.

He decided to ignore it and was already walking away when he heard one of them speak. In Japanese.

"Umm... excuse me... are you perhaps the one called Keima Katsuragi?" the devil girl on the left asked, but then winced when the one on the right elbowed her. "What was that for?!"

"Don't address him so casually!" the other girl whispered before turning to him. Keima briefly wondered whether they were younger or older than 100 years, because they looked like teenagers. "Are you the God of Conquest?"

They were kind of helping him, he shouldn't lie to them, right?

"Yes..." he admitted slowly and they squeaked in response.

"In that case is there any chance you could sign this?" the first one asked, presenting him a pen and something to write on. Keima looked at them blankly. He had a lot of supporters and lost lambs on the Internet and all... but he never met any of them in person. And his fans were rarely women.

And none of them were devils...

"Well" he pushed up his glasses, assuming his trademark pose. "It wouldn't hurt I guess" he said taking the pen. "You're the one helping me, after all. Thank you for your hard work" he said while giving an autograph for the first time in his life.

Truth be told, he wasn't too happy with this. It was another interference of the real. And he wasn't exactly smiling at them, but both devils didn't seem to mind, as if someone told them what they should expect from him. Was it Haqua? Come to think of it, Keima remembered Haqua talking about him being some kind of a celebrity in New Hell... how troublesome...

"Here you are" he returned the pen to them along with his autograph. He even decided to smile – it might help to maintain good relations with New Hell. He was, however, surprised when one of the girls _sighed_ dreamily.

He was briefly reminded that New Hell had barely any males...

"Thank you so much, Kami-sama!" both devil girls told him, bowing and speaking in perfect harmony, her voices and actions resembling Eri's. He also didn't miss the looks they were giving him. Did they volunteer for this job just so they could meet him?

He just hoped they were just some young and naïve trainees.

(* * *)

On his way out of the hospital Keima managed to conquer another heroine. Once outside he paused his game and raised his head. It was late afternoon. Should he go buy some games or should he go straight home? Tsk. Decisions, decisions...

Honk! Honk!

The sound of the car horn startled him. And it sounded much too close. Keima turned around and noticed a Japanese SUV with tinted windows that was standing in the parking lot of the hospital. The passenger's window lowered revealing Shōtarō Shiratori.

Not that Keima was surprised at this point.

"Good afternoon, Keima-kun" Shiratori said and Keima noticed that Yanagi was sitting next to him, obviously serving as a driver.

"How did you know I was here?" Keima asked before answering his own question. "Tenri..."

"Do you need a lift?" the old man asked.

Keima was silent for a moment, considering the offer. There was one problem though. The old man and Yanagi were sitting in the front, which meant Keima would be forced to seat in the back. If the back was empty then it was fine... but Keima very much doubted that.

The old man must've sensed his apprehension.

"Don't worry, we'll get you to your house safely" he told Keima with a gentle smile, completely ignoring the gamer's glare.

Finally, Keima decided to just go with it, hoping the vehicle wasn't hiding a dozen of girls. After all, in the memories he had seen nine people packed into a car intended for six tops.

Keima approached the door, opened it and got inside. Then he looked around and, sure enough, Urara was there, looking outside the other window, chin propped on her elbow. Now that Keima had the chance to examine her closely, he had to hand it to the runaway spirit that once possessed her – the Weiss made a great job, because the seventeen years-old girl Keima was seeing now looked almost exactly as the one from the past timeline.

There were some differences of course. First, Urara was now truly seventeen and not just a first-grader in a body of an adult, so she behaved differently. Second, she had a strange look on her face that seemed to speak "I'm too proud to deal with a bother like you". Maybe she was angry with him after all. Or maybe she was just embarrassed. And third, her attire was different – this time it was something Keima would call a mix between casual clothes of a high schooler and a dress one would from expect from a western lady or an ojōsama like her.

Keima considered real girls to be imperfect beings, even though his many experiences taught him that the ideal from the games wasn't possible in real. Bah! During the conquest of Akari Kurakawa (aka Rimyuel) he had also learned that imperfection wasn't all that bad.

3D girls were inferior to the 2D, their parameters, behavior and routes illogical. Most of them weren't suited to be heroines. All that was true. But Keima knew that real girls, at least some of them, had a certain charm to them. And he could never really deny that his conquest targets had surprisingly high physical parameters. Of course he was a God of Conquest – he was the hero of all game heroines. He was above the temptations of the flesh. But the temptation was still there.

In other words – he noticed that Urara was stunningly beautiful, even with that annoyed or offended look on her face. She had this specific lady-like kind of beauty. Compared to the other ojōsama-type girls Keima knew Urara wasn't short (unlike Mio), wasn't cross-dressing (unlike Yui) and wasn't flat-chested (unlike Tsukiyo).

Keima knew Urara's grandfather was quite protective of her. He knew Urara was only seventeen. He knew she was the only heir the Shiratori family had. And he knew she was abroad for some time. But he was still surprised she wasn't yet wearing an engagement ring.

Funny thing. Keima had conquered thousands of game heroines, while Urara had most likely stolen hundreds of hearts. She probably had been forced to break some of them as well. Still, it's not like Keima hadn't done similar things...

He was brought out of his musings by Urara's question.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" the girl repeated, her face reddened in irritation.

"I was just wondering how your runaway spirit managed to reproduce your adult form with such level of detail" he told her and unpaused his game.

"D-detail?" Urara asked, a new shade of red adorning her face and this time definitely not because of anger " _You_ were checking _me_ out!?" well, not only because of anger.

"Don't flatter yourself" Keima narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm not interested in real girls and you're no exception!"

"Haha" the old man Shiratori said in a nervous manner. "It seems you haven't changed much, Keima-kun."

Keima glared at him.

"I suppose you're not just giving me a lift" he said. "What do you want?"

"Sharp as ever" Shōtarō replied, before turning more serious. "Mainly, I wanted to thank you for all the things you did, Keima-kun."

"Right."

"I also thought you'd like to thank me for my help as well" the old man continued. Yanagi coughed. "I mean thank us" Shiratori corrected himself.

"Hmpf, I helped you and you helped me, we're even" Keima said, not looking up from his PFP, but he continued to watch Urara from the corner of his eye. After all, the last time she was this close to him, his precious gaming device ended being broken and soaked in water.

"What an unruly child" Shōtarō shook his head, but he was smiling.

"But I suppose I owe you an apology, Yanagi-san. I'm sorry" the woman driving the car flinched a little bit and Keima heard a strange sound that could only be Urara chuckling.

"So what's the deal with you?" Keima asked, looking at the girl. "Weren't you supposed to be abroad?"

"I was!" Urara replied, looking away from him, nose held high in the air. "At least until I was kidnapped!"

"So that means you're going back to the USA soon, right?"

"No" she replied, surprising him.

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, you see" the old man interrupted with a apologetic smile. "Urara wanted to become an astronaut, so it was only logical that she should study abroad."

"You _really_ wanted to be an astronaut?" Keima looked at the girl genuinely surprised. Urara squirmed.

"I was seven back then!" she tried for a hostile response, but that didn't hide her blush. "You should've thought about it before lying to a small girl!"

"You mean a small naïve girl who pretended to be mature-omph!" she slugged him in his ribs in a complete unladylike fashion.

"I know it sounds illogical, but this feels nostalgic" the old man said with a content expression.

"When I grew up a bit" Urara continued, pretending as if she didn't see Keima's glare directed her way. "I realized my dream was a little... blown out of proportion. But I still wanted to be an astronomer or a physicist."

"Sounds like a tough job for a lady" Keima noticed, expecting another jab to come his way. But it didn't.

Truth be told, Keima would have preferred for her to hit him. That would mean she was angry. End of the story. But after the meeting with Haqua Keima realized Urara was pretty much the only one of his conquest targets that haven't kissed him. It was highly unlike for her to want to do so, they were practically strangers, but Keima would rather not take any chances.

"Grandpa told me I would have better chances if I studied abroad" Urara said. "But, of course, that was just a ruse to keep me out of the harm's way."

"Not really" Shōtarō interjected, turning over his shoulder with a smile. "By going abroad your chances of becoming astronaut sky-rocketed from none to slim" he stopped when he saw both Urara and Keima looking at him with nearly identical glares. "Hoo? It seems you are on the same wavelength after all... that's good."

Keima didn't like that remark.

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking at the old man. "Why am I here? What are you planning?"

"Nothing much" Shōtarō replied. "As you already figured out Urara is not going back to United States. It's not like she didn't make some friends there... I would be surprised if she didn't... what with that looks."

"Grandpa!" Urara was red from both anger and embarrassment.

"As I was saying... well... I guess you already see where I'm going with this."

Keima combined all pieces of information and searched for similar routes he had seen in games.

"You're going to transfer Urara to Mai-High?" he asked.

"Bright as ever" Shōtarō replied.

Keima nodded. That in itself wasn't too bad. But in that case why was he being told this now?

"Keima-kun" the old man spoke again. "You're one of the few people I can trust" Keima disagreed, but waited for the next words. "You have a vast knowledge of many things, which is why I feel you're the best person to help my granddaughter to acclimate to her new environment."

Keima stopped playing, his mouth agape. You've got to be kidding.

"What?!" he asked, not caring that he was being loud. "Why me? Can't Mio or Yui do it?"

"Ah, Aoyama-san and Goidō-san... yes, they should prove a wonderful friends for Urara, but I have seen what a group of friends is capable of when left unattended. Please understand me, Keima-kun" Shōtarō looked at him. "Urara is the most important thing in the word for me, so I obviously worry. You know men these days..."

"Grandpa!"

"And you're not worried to leave her in my care?" Keima asked.

"Of course not. A misogynist like you would've never tried to take advantage of my granddaughter."

Keima waited for a moment, but the old man didn't say anything more. He turned to look at Urara, hoping for her to object.

"I-I guess I don't have much choice. Please take good care of me" the girl said, not looking at him at all.

Keima continued to stare at her. Did he just agreed to be a babysitter for a girl that used to abuse his consoles? Great. Just great.

"Here we are" Shōtarō said when Yanagi stopped the car right in front of Café Grandpa.

(* * *)

And thus Keima found himself in his house, wondering how was it that he had just spent another day getting things done. Things that he shouldn't have anything to do with in the first place.

How did Chihiro's song go again? Those fleeting, precious days?

Was that how his life was going to look like from now on? Maybe it wasn't so bad. I mean, it wasn't _anywhere_ near the way it used to be before he had met Elsie, but it was still better than running around, making various real girls fall in love with him and getting kicked around in the process.

Well, at least he could play games now, he thought before turning on his six monitors and immersing himself in the world of galge.

 **(* * *)**

 **Okay, so we have a little Chihiro x Keima moment, then we learn that Kaori is alive (I wonder how many of you thought she was dead) and, finally, it turns out Urara will become a permanent addition to the cast... though it seems Keima had heard better news in his life xD**

 **Not much left to say. If you want to know what happens next, then stay tuned for next chapter (planned on Monday). If you like this chapter, then drop me a review. If you don't like it, drop the review as well – constructive criticism is welcomed.**

 **See you next time!**

 **(* * *)**

 **As usual we end with omake, this time based on Kusunoki's conquest:**

 **Mai-High Delinquents appear!**

 **Elsie used Tackle! Elsie is damaged by recoil!**

 **Delinquent Ryou used Glare. Elsie's defense fell!**

 **Delinquent Ryou used Mega Punch. Keima flinched!**

 **Mai-High Delinquents used Comet Punch. Hit 5-times!**

 **Wild martial arts girl Kusunoki appears!**

 **Kusunoki used Fly. Delinquent Ryou used Cut. But it missed!**

 **Kusunoki is now behind Delinquent Ryou! Kusunoki used Mach Punch. Kusunoki used Gust. Ciritcal hit!**

 **Mai-High Delinquents flee!**

 **Keima tried to walk away. Kusunoki used Submission. Keima used Save. But it failed.**

 **Kusunoki used Mean Look. Keima can't escape!**

 **Elsie is confused. Elsie used Fury Swipes. Hit 5-times!**

 **Kusunoki used Mean Look.**

 **Doro! Doro! Doro!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Random female student appears! Random female student used Poke Doll. Kusunoki's defense fell!**

 **Kusunoki used Glare. Random female student is paralyzed.**

 **Wild Meowth appears! Kusunoki used Scary Face. Wild Meowth got away safely! Kusunoki's defense fell!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Kusunoki used Focus Punch. Critical hit! 9 bricks fainted!**

 **Keima appears.**

 **Kusunoki used Ominous Wind. Keima used Dazzling Gleam. Keima is exerting his Pressure!**

 **Kusunoki's attack fell! Kusunoki's defense fell!**

 **Keima is now Kusunoki's male manager!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Wild Meowth appears! Kusunoki's attack fell! Wild Meowth used Cuddle. Kusunoki's defense greatly fell!**

 **Keima appears. Kusunoki is confused! Kusunoki started to babble in her confusion!**

 **Kusunoki used Mega Punch!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Elsie used Hagoromo. Elsie and Keima vanished instantly!**

 **Kusunoki appears!**

 **A mysterious person used Echoed Voice. It said "Don't abandon it!"**

 **Kusunoki used Fling (with the Meowth). But it failed!**

 **The loose soul used Double Team. Feminine Kusunoki appears!**

 **Kusunoki, Keima and Elsie are confused!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used the wild Meowth. Feminine Kusunoki appeared! Feminine Kusunoki got away safely!**

 **Elsie used Date. Kusunoki and Keima used Rage.**

 **Feminine Kusunoki appeared! Kusunoki used Mega Punch. But it failed! Feminine Kusunoki got away safely!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Kusunoki used Whack-A-Lobster. Hit 4-times. Kusunoki's score is 728. Kusunoki's defense rose!**

 **Keima used Whack-A-Lobster. Hit 5-times. Keima's score is 999. Kusunoki's attack rose!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Kusunoki used Soft-serve Ice Cream. Kusunoki and Keima are confused!**

 **Kusunoki and Keima used Lick. Kusunoki's defense fell drastically! Feminine Kusunoki appears!**

 **Kusunoki used Mega Punch! Feminine Kusunoki used Mega Kick!**

 **Feminine Kusunoki used Submission. Kusunoki used Struggle.**

 **Feminine Kusunoki used Mega Punch! Critical hit!**

 **Keima used Flower Gift.**

 **Elsie appears. Elsie used Iron Defense! Elsie's defense greatly rose!**

 **Elsie used Bounce. Elsie used Fissure. The ground cracks!**

 **Keima used Chatter. Feminine Kusunoki's defense fell! Feminine Kusunoki gives up!**

 **Feminine Kusunoki disappeared.**

 **Kusunoki is confused. Kusunoki used wrap. Keima used Struggle.**

 **Kusunoki is confused. Kusunoki used Farewell Kiss! Kusunoki fainted!**

 **The loose soul appears! Elsie used Imprison. Loose soul in custody!**


	17. Flag 17: The pressure of the 3D

**Hello everyone!**

 **I'm back and I present you another chapter of KamiNomiNai! This one is much shorter then the previous one, but I hope you'll like it anyway.  
**

 **As usual, I wanted to assure you that I'm thankful for all your support. In particular, the number of views for the last few days was much higher than I expected.**

 **Still, I would like to encourage you to "voice" your opinions, since the feedback is really helpful. It's true that I have a few chapters prepared ahead (too few of them actually), but the opinion of my readers is still important to me and I don't want to "go blindly" so to speak...**

 **...well I presume opinions will rain down on me once we reach a certain point in the story, but we'll talk about it once it happens.**

 **Last thing, concerning the frequency of updates. I have a few fragments ready beyond flag 20... but I don't have flag 21 itself... And it doesn't look like I'll get it done anytime soon. Thus, the only reason I plan to post the next chapter on Saturday (instead of Sunday) is because the current chapter is so short.**

 **Okay, enough said! Enjoy!**

 **(* * *)**

It seemed that the weather finally realized that it was November already as the wind was relentlessly biting through her clothes. Well, later in the day it will be much warmer, but still... mornings are going to be chilly, Eri thought while rearranging her scarf.

Then she glanced sideways, before finally deciding to speak.

"Nii-sama? Are you feeling okay?" she asked carefully. "You look more tense than usual today... did something happen?"

On one hand Eri congratulated herself that she was able to pick on Keima's changes in behavior like that. On the other hand she realized that asking that question might've not been the brightest of ideas, because her brother stopped moving and then slowly turned his head to her in a mechanical manner. And Eri didn't like the look on his face.

"Did something happen? Did something happen you ask?" Keima repeated, his hands shaking. "Of course it did! Just yesterday the old man Shiratori announced to me that Urara will transfer to our school and I have to serve as her tour guide or something!" he resumed his walking and narrowed his eyes at his sister. "Seriously it's just one thing after another. It's like I'm on a ship with broken rudder during a storm!"

"Urara-chan is going to transfer to our school?" Eri asked, as if that was the only thing she understood from Keima's talk, making him glare at her.

And then he sighed.

"Why is it always me that gets the short end of the stick?"

"Huh? What do you mean, nii-sama?" Eri asked concerned. "Is it really so bad?"

Keima's eyebrow started to twitch, then he stopped again and turned around, blocking Eri's way and making her step backwards.

"I guess this is a really good situation for you" he started. "Before you were just a lonely incompetent weapon of mass destruction and hell janitor. Now you have a multitude of friends and because of the Satyr's plot no-one really forgot about you! You can now hang out with Haqua, Ayumi, Chihiro, Rimyuel or God knows who else! And you can have enough friends now to just alternate between them, so no-one gets too angry at you and you can peacefully spread your firetruck religion!"

Keima then turned back and resumed walking before Eri could answer. As per usual he was playing his games, but he also glimpsed from above his console from time to time, one reason was because he was still wary of encountering some girls.

However, there was another reason as well. The guards. Haqua, Nora and Rimyuel were supposed to be guarding him and Keima understood that for the protection to be effective the guards had to remain hidden. This meant the guards were probably using hagoromos to conceal their presence, so Keima couldn't see them. Still, he continued to look around. Once he even surveyed the sky.

But still nothing.

"Nii-sama!" his sister finally caught up to him, surprisingly, with a smile. "Hey, hey, I have an answer to your problem!" she practically chirped. "You know what they say – if you can't beat them, join them!"

Keima turned to look at her with one of his most creepy expressions so far.

"Are you suggesting I surrender to the real?" he asked. "Outrageous! After my dead body!"

"We shall see about that!" Eri remarked, her finger on her chin, clearly trying to imitate one of his poses. Was it a challenge? A provocation? Hmpf, better to just ignore it.

(* * *)

They have finally reached the school and Keima raised his gaze from his console (still ignoring Eri's antics of course) and looked around. And sure enough, he saw the one girl he had expected to see waiting under one of the trees, wearing the Mai High uniform of course. For a second he thought about sneaking past her, but it was already too late – she noticed him and began walking in his direction.

"Um... good morning, I guess" Urara said when she was close enough... only to be all but assaulted by Eri.

"Waah! So you are Urara-chan!" the former devil exclaimed in pure glee. "I never saw you in your older form. Ooh... that's right. I'm Eri Katsuragi, nice to meet you Urara-chan... Can I call you Urara-chan?"

"Umm" the girl in question stepped back when Eri's face got too close. "Well... if you want."

"Yay!" Eri exclaimed happily, causing Urara to give Keima a questioning look.

"What are you so surprised? She's always like that" he told her. "Good morning by the way. And try not to get too close to me."

"Haa?" Urara replied, looking almost offended. "Who's the one flattering himself now? Why would I try to get close to you? Besides you're just worried about me destroying your games. Don't worry, I won't be touching such a childish device!"

"It's not that. Well, not only that" Keima told her. He didn't look happy as well. "It's just that... after thinking this through I concluded you wouldn't want to associate with me too much. It will damage your image of a lady if you appear physically close to outcast like me in public, right?"

"I appreciate your concern, but I will be the one to choose my own company" Urara replied with closed eyes and an air of pride... only for it to completely shatter when Eri got close to her yet again.

"So" the dark-haired girl started in her high-pitched voice. "Which class are you-"

"For God's sake Eri!" Keima scolded her. "Do you have to be so loud!? There's enough people watching us without you catching their attention like that!"

"Aww! That's mean, nii-sama!" Eri replied while flailing her arms.

"However, her question is sound" Keima turned to Urara. "So, which class are you in? 2-B?"

"No" Urara replied. Keima raised his eyebrow. She wasn't in his class? Well, he was happy about this, but it didn't make sense. Unless...

"So, it's 2-A? With Mio and Yui?"

Urara shook her head, once again proving that the real was incapable or unwilling to cooperate with the God of Conquest.

"I'm in class 2-C" Urara told him. Keima took a moment to think.

"That's Shiori's class" he realized. Why? Well, he could think of some reasons. Putting Urara in his class would probably introduce another level of chaos to his already disorderly life. However, the old man Shiratori said something about trying not to keep Urara, Mio and Yui _too_ close without supervision. And Shiori could definitely use some social training... he doubted it would be that easy though. However, that answer brought him to another question.

"What am I supposed to do then?" he asked. "Especially since most of my conquests took place in the school, so you can learn about the school from the memories."

"It-it's not like I take pleasure in watching and reliving your _exploits_ , you know?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"That doesn't answer my question" Keima noticed.

Urara sighed. "Well, I guess grandpa meant that if I have any problems I should ask you for help."

"And why not the teachers?" he asked.

"To be honest, grandpa believes that you're less likely to help, but once you do you're much more efficient than them" she replied and then glanced at him. "And I don't want to admit it, but he's right."

"Whatever."

"Moreover, I presume I am capable of doing it on my own, but if I have any trouble studying..."

"I get it" he cut her off. "That is somewhat logical, but I still think that's a little overkill."

"I agree" she replied. By now they were already inside the high school building. "Truth be told, I think that grandpa had another... reason, when he made that request."

"Which is?" Keima asked carefully.

"There is only one reason _normal_ people would have when it comes to you, isn't there?"

"To drag me into the real" he stated, not asked. "I can understand my parents. Eri. The teachers. Even Chihiro. But the others? Why are you so bent on this? Don't you see I'm happy living in the 2D?"

Urara looked away with annoyed expression. "I will make it clear" she started after a few seconds of silence, catching his attention. "I don't really care that much what you believe in. Yes, I think you playing games is creepy and wrong, but that's your choice. I don't plan to interfere. If you spend your entire live being content with playing games then that's that" she stopped and turned to face him. "But what if you're wrong?"

"What do you mean?" Keima asked. By now both of them all but forgot about Eri, who was listening to this conversation in silence.

"The virtual world is part of the real world, not the other way around" Urara said. "I mean you may pretend all you like, buy you _still_ need to breathe, eat, drink and sleep! The real world takes precedence! What if ten years from now you find yourself without money and without people precious to you? You won't be able to pretend it's not a problem. If you do that you'll just die! And dead people can't play games!"

"It's not my fault that the world in games is so much better" he retorted. "If you want me to live in real then maybe you should raise its standards?"

If he had been expecting for her to waver then he had been proven wrong.

"You're just avoiding the issue!" she challenged. "And maybe the real world standards are just fine?" she suggested. "Maybe you're just too weak of a player to play it? I think you're just complaining about the real world instead of trying harder!"

As a child Urara was acting well... childish, but Keima knew she wasn't stupid, especially since she managed to study abroad. But he was still surprised by what he was hearing right now.

"I think so too, nii-sama" Eri said, but then cowered when Keima glared at her. He then turned back to Urara.

"For someone who 'doesn't really care that much what I believe in' you seem strangely persuasive" he noticed while looking her right in the eye.

"Don't get me wrong" Urara replied and boldly stepped forward. Keima didn't expect such aggressiveness from her. Then again, she attempted to forcibly undress him at one point in the past. Non-existent past, but still... "Even if you are an insensitive game maniac you helped me big time, so think of it as a token of gratitude" she said before she started to walk again. "I will be fine from here on. I know where my class is!" and with this she headed towards the stairs.

(* * *)

"Chihiro-san! Ayumi-san! Good morning!" Eri greeted her two friends.

"Morning!" the runner replied.

"Hey, Eri!" Chihiro said with a smile, but then she noticed Keima slump down on his chair.

"I kinda knew not to expect that from your brother" the band leader asked. "But would it really kill him to say 'hello' to us?"

"Aah" Eri had an uneasy look on her face. "Don't hold it against, nii-sama. He just had an argument with someone and is in a really bad mood right now."

"Argument? With who?"

"With Urara-chan."

Both girls blinked then looked at each other.

"They way you said it... are we supposed to know this person?" Chihiro asked.

"Urara... Urara... Aah!" Ayumi had an epiphany. "I think she's that girl who 10 years ago showed Katsuragi a porn magazine and then..." she trailed off with a blank expression, her mouth hanging open in realization and Chihiro choked on absolutely nothing.

"Are you alright?" Eri asked.

"*Cough* what *cough* did she want from your brother?" Chihiro asked.

"Hmm" Eri put her finger to her mouth in thought. "From what I understood Urara-chan transferred to our school and nii-sama is supposed to help her if she has any problems" at this point Eri started gesturing wildly. "And then they started arguing... Urara-chan was telling nii-sama he should put more effort in the real world and I think she was right!"

"Really?" Ayumi asked. "I find it hard to believe."

Chihiro nodded and looked at Keima, only to see him throw daggers at the back of Eri's head. Chihiro raised her eyebrow and Keima then started to write something in his notebook. When he was finished he raised a page, so Chihiro could see a "what she said" message, obviously referencing Eri, before Keima hit the table top with his head in exasperation.

"On a second thought, I would like to thank that Urara girl" Chihiro said. "Hey, how about we gather the girls and launch a global assault?" she suggested. "Maybe Katsuragi can still be saved!"

"I'm not so sure" Ayumi shook her head. "This will make him angry in the process and he will just withdraw. I say we give him some rest and proceed slowly if we want to cure him."

"Cure who?" a voice asked, startling both Ayumi and Chihiro.

"Miyako-chan" Eri greeted the newcomer.

"Hello, Eri" Miyako replied before smiling. "So? Who are you talking about?"

(* * *)

The class ended and Keima brought out his PFP. Finally no interruptions, he thought as he turned his game on. But he couldn't relax just yet – he had to decide whether he should stay in the classroom or leave it. Some time ago he would've chosen the latter option in an instant, after all if he stayed where he was he would almost certainly need to deal with Ayumi, Chihiro and Eri and going outside meant little risk.

But now things were different. Going out could mean interference from several other illogical real girls. By continuing to sit here at least he wasn't wasting any energy to move around.

Creak. The sound of someone sitting down in a chair wasn't anything special. If he had been using headphones he wouldn't have noticed it in the first place. But this time something told him to raise his head. So he did. And he saw Ayumi sitting in front of him, her eyes fixated on him.

He looked around and noticed Eri standing next to him, her head tilted to the side. Chihiro was sitting in her normal seat, but she was looking at him as well.

No... that wasn't completely right. They weren't looking at him. They were looking at his PFP.

"What is it?" he asked, trying for a calm and not offending voice. He shouldn't make them angry in the unlikely case they weren't planning to destroy his console.

"Not much" Ayumi responded casually. "I'm just trying to figure out what is so good about those games of yours."

"Same here" Eri smiled and Chihiro nodded her head.

"First, you can't even see my console screen" Keima told the two of them and then he turned to Ayumi. "And you can't see it that well upside-down."

"It's fine" Ayumi said light-heartedly. "I won't be able to understand it even if you turn it around."

"What's the point then?" Keima asked. "Especially since I'm the savior of heroines from all games, even the crappy ones. I'm playing bad games as well, as long as there are heroines to save."

"I see..." Ayumi responded, as if she really wanted to understand.

Why were they doing this? Well, he knew what they were _trying_ to do, but not only it was pointless, but they were doing it so openly. And just after similar thing happened with Urara. Did the three of them and Urara plan it beforehand? No, the previous conversation proved otherwise.

In that case he hoped they won't be making such plans in the future, because the effects could be... catastrophic. But what should he do now? Should he tell them off? Ignore them? Or maybe try to creep them out? Well, he had tried the first two options already, so why not the third one?

He stood up from his seat, rearranged his glasses before speaking. "Hmpf! There's no way you'd be able to understand it and there's no need for you to do so... unless you want me to introduce you to the world of 2D!"

"Umm... why are you pointing at me?" Eri asked surprised.

And who was he supposed to point at? Chihiro? He didn't want to make her angry. Ayumi? He had received enough of her kicks in his life, thank you very much. This way Eri had at least _some_ use.

"I'll pass" Ayumi looked away before giving him this Ayumi-the-great-tactitian glance. "But I can introduce you to the real world if you'd like."

"I second that" Chihiro smirked in her trademark way... before widening her eyes a little bit.

And then Keima felt someone's hand land on his shoulder.

"Katsuragi- _kun_."

Keima flinched immediately, before turning around.

"Are you playing games in class again?" Nikaidō asked with a smile.

Keima blanched.

"It's break already!" he defended himself. "I wasn't playing games in your class!"

That earned him a whack on his head.

"You're supposed to address me as Nikaidō-sensei."

Keima grabbed his head and glared at her. "We both know how I should address you Doku-ouch!"

"Umm... don't you think it's going too far?" Chihiro tried. "Uh... Nikaidō-sensei" she added.

"Oh? You seem strangely protective of Katsuragi lately, Kosaka" Nikaidō noticed with a nasty smirk, making Chihiro squirm in her seat.

"I-it's not like that" the brown-haired girl replied with a blush, thankful that most of their classmates were out of them room.

"Not like what?" a voice asked, proving that Miyako was still present and would love to obtain some teasing material on Chihiro.

The girl in question tossed Ayumi and Eri a pleading gaze, but neither of the two was in any hurry to oppose Nikaidō. Not when they knew what their teacher really was. Had been. Used to be. Whatever.

"Shall we go then, Katsuragi-kun?" Nikaidō's question was meaningless, because she was already dragging Keima out of the classroom.

"I didn't do anything!" the gamer wailed while flailing his arm in vain.

"Just in case" Ayumi started, exploiting the fact that Miyako was currently busy with pestering Chhiro. "Is there anything else I should know about our teachers having connections to... you know what?"

Eri just shook her head.

(* * *)

"Seriously, what is it this time?" Keima asked rudely once he could stand again. "If it was to save me from Chihiro and the rest you clearly overdid it!"

"Save you?" Nikaidō glanced at him. "I'm actually sad I couldn't watch it any longer, but I made a promise after all. Follow me" she then started walking again.

"Promise? What promise?" Keima asked.

"By the way" Nikaidō said, completely ignoring his question. "What about you and Kosaka?"

Keima narrowed his eyes. "The flags are being raised. It's just that her route... is unfolding slow. It needs more time. Actually, I'm surprised it's going anywhere at all."

"Her route?" Nikaidō repeated. "Are you certain it's not you who's slowing down the process? Besides, why you're still treating it like conquest?"

"It's not like I know how to do anything else. Besides no-one said a slow route is bad. It's still faster than the teacher route" Keima countered, looking at her.

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting, onii-chan?" Nikaidō asked with a smile that made her devil origins quite obvious.

"Think what you want" he spoke calmly. "And don't change the topic. Why am I here?"

"Go in and find out" Nikaidō told him while pointing to some room. It wasn't the staff room. Keima felt a foreboding, but he didn't have much choice in the matter.

"It's funny that you mentioned the teacher route" Nikaidō remarked.

"Why?" he asked while entering the room.

"Um... hello... Katsuragi-kun."

Keima blinked. Raised his head. And realized why.

"Nagase-sensei?"

 **(* * *)**

 **So, here we have a lot of people gently telling Keima that perhaps he should consider putting a little _more_ effort in the real world. And Keima is not amused. I wonder who will win this uneven battle?**

 **Oh, wait! Nagase-sensei is back! Would she become a general that will lead the army of real to combat against Keima and his ideals? Or is she here for a different reason whatsoever?**

 **Read the next chapter to find out!**

 **See you next time!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Traditionally I present you another omake, this time referencing Haqua's arc.**

 **Doro! Doro! Doro! Elsie is confused.**

 **? ? ? used Detention Bottle. ? ? ? used Imprison. Elsie in Custody!**

 **District chief Haqua appears!**

 **Elsie used Wrap. But it missed.**

 **Haqua used Hand Shake. It's super effective!**

 **Keima appears. Haqua used Hand Shake. It doesn't affect Keima!**

 **Doro! Doro! Doro! Dokurou Skull calls!**

 **Elsie used Helping Hand. It doesn't affect Haqua. Haqua got away safely.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Haqua is confused. Haqua's defense fell!**

 **Keima appears. Keima used Helping Hand. It's not very effective.**

 **Keima used Chatter. Haqua's defense sharply fell!**

 **Elsie used Fly. Elsie crashed on Keima!**

 **Elsie used Happy Hour. Keima used Chatter. Haqua used Slash. Critical hit!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Haqua used Past Sight. But it failed.**

 **Keima and Haqua used Chatter. Haqua used Slash.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima and Haqua arrived at the theater.**

 **Haqua's defense fell! Keima attempted to leave. Haqua's defense sharply fell!**

 **Haqua used Wrap. Keima is confused!**

 **Elsie appears! Level 3 Weiss appears!**

 **Haqua used Imprison. It's not very effective.**

 **Level 3 Weiss used Double Team. Level 3 Weiss is now controlling students.**

 **Elsie, Haqua and students used Struggle. Keima is loafing around.**

 **Level 3 Weiss got away safely.**

 **Keima used Helping Hand. It doesn't affect Haqua. Haqua's defense fell!**

 **Haqua used Flashback. Haqua got away safely.**

 **Elsie used Pound.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Haqua's defense sharply fell. Level 3 Weiss used Vine Whip. Level 3 Weiss is now controlling Haqua.**

 **Keima and Elsie appear! Haqua used Amnesia. Keima and Elsie are confused! Haqua used Slash.**

 **Elsie is confused! Keima used Screech. Elsie's defense greatly fell!**

 **Keima used Chatter. Haqua used Ember. Keima is burned!**

 **Haqua used Growl. Elsie's attack fell!**

 **Haqua used Flashback. Haqua's defense fell! Haqua's special attack sharply rose!**

 **Haqua used Ember! Haqua used Slash!**

 **Elsie used Growl. Haqua's special attack fell!**

 **Haqua used Slash. Elsie used Quick Attack. Elsie used Tackle. Haqua flinched!**

 **Elsie used Assurance. Level 3 Weiss is no longer controlling Haqua!**

 **Haqua used Hagoromo. Haqua used Constrict. Hit 5 times!**

 **Elsie used Agility. Elsie used Imprison. Loose soul in custody!**


	18. Flag 18: Weekend events

**Hello, everyone! Here's another chapter of the KamiNomiNai!**

 **Not much to say this time around. I thank you for all your support and I'm sorry if the recent events and pace are not to your liking. I'll try to make the story more entertaining, but I'll also keep true to the general plot I envisioned.  
**

 **This chapter is not that long as well, so the next one will be posted either on Thursday or Friday... it depends on how October will start, since I'll probably have substantial amount of work to do -.-'**

 **Also, while we're not there yet, we're inevitable getting to the important part.**

 **Just for the record: this chapter didn't have a title until "moments" ago... so I'm sorry for not figuring out a better one.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(* * *)**

"Nagase-sensei? What are you doing here?" Keima asked. In hindsight it was a stupid question.

"Um... I wanted to meet with you" Jun replied. She was sitting in one of the chairs in the empty classroom with an uneasy look on her face. It was like she was a student and not a teacher trainee. "And I asked Nikaidō-sempai to get you here."

At this Keima turned to Nikaidō who closed the door behind them and leaned against the wall.

"Could you leave the two of us alone?" Keima asked.

"I ask you to do that as well, sempai" Nagase said.

"Fufufu..." Nikaidō snickered. "And miss your reunion? Not a chance."

Keima continued to glare at her for a moment and then walked to the desk in front of Jun, sat down and put away his console. Just in case.

"So what did you want?" he asked, trying for a quieter voice, smiling inwardly when he noticed Nikaidō strain her ears from the corner of his eyes.

"Um... I think I owe you an apology... I misjudged you back then" Jun said, while fiddling with her fingers. "I also should thank you for helping me."

Figures, Keima thought. He just hoped that was everything she wanted to tell him.

"Don't worry about it" Keima replied. "Thanks to that I realized I was actually considered a problem child. It helped me afterwards" he paused for a moment. "I should also be saying sorry. Because of me you had some... expenses" he looked up at her. "I will refund you the PFP and the wrestling ticket."

"Ah... you don't have to do that Katsuragi-kun" Jun said in response. "And the ticket had nothing to do with you!"

Keima looked at her for a few more seconds, but then decided not to argue.

"Fair enough" he replied. "I guess I should also be sorry about lying to you about having a girlfriend."

"I understand you had little choice back then" Jun looked at her lap. "But still, you've been lying to a lot of people" she looked him in the eye.

"Yes, I know... but that's over now" he replied, matching her gaze with his. "So, I take it that's all there was to say, right?"

"No, that's not all!" Jun told him, standing up from her seat and startling him a little. "I-I" she suddenly mellowed, her cheeks reddening. "I did something unforgivable... I allowed myself an illicit relationship with a student."

"It was just one kiss and you weren't a teacher, but just a teacher trainee" Keima noticed in a calm voice. "And at the time I wasn't your student anymore, so it's not a problem."

"S-still... that was unprofessional of me!" Jun exclaimed, then she calmed down and sat on her chair once again with a embarrassed expression on her face.

"I said not to worry about it... your misconducts are nothing compared to certain other's" Keima whispered so Nikaidō wouldn't hear him.

"T-that's not an excuse! Anyway" Jun responded and then stood once again, this time however her expression was that of determination. "Katsuragi-kun, please play games to your heart's content."

"Huh?" he looked at her in confusion. "Wasn't your goal to make me stop playing games?" he asked.

"That's right. Thus, you should play them while you still can" she told him with a smile. "Because once I'm back I'm make you stop playing them!"

"And when you'll be back?" he asked carefully.

"Next year" she told him. That meant April. "Nikaidō-sempai said there would be no problems! So prepare yourself Katsuragi-kun!" she challenged with her finger pointed at him.

"Don't worry, I'm no longer playing games in Dokurō's class" Keima pointed at the teacher by the door. "And I won't be playing in your class either."

"That's not enough! I'll make you completely stop playing games!"

"Every last one of them..." Keima uttered quietly. It's not like this development was unexpected. It's just that the others couldn't really do much, especially if they didn't want to strain their relations with him. But Jun was a teacher. Granted, making him abandon games completely was going beyond a teacher's duty, but he expected nothing less from her.

"Hmpf! Do what you want" he replied. It's not like she would contact his mother or barge into his house. Right?

"That's all I wanted to say. I'll be going then! Until we meet again" Jun said with a smile, then stood up and walked to the door. She opened them and turned one more time before raising her fist above her head.

"Ooo!" she exclaimed one more time before disappearing.

(* * *)

"You can come out now" Nikaidō said after Keima left the room as well. She then turned around to face this new person. "You seem to have some business with me. What is it?"

(* * *)

Keima woke up slowly and rose from his bed. The inside of his room was rather dark thanks to the blinds, but Keima knew it was almost noon. And it wasn't like he was sleeping for that long – mainly because he stayed late playing games. But despite his drowsiness he immediately livened up when he realized what was today.

Saturday. Weekend. No school. No runaway spirits. Meaning two days of gaming!

But first, he thought as he felt his stomach rumble, he need to eat something. He came out of his room and stopped on his way to visit the bathroom. Then he came downstairs. There were some customers in the café which was normal during weekend. Keima went to the fridge in pursuit of something edible and found soy milk. This could very well serve for breakfast, however mom and Eri would give him a scolding if they saw him having a breakfast like that, so he had to make sure they weren't anywhere nearby.

He looked around. Dad was nowhere to be seen, he was probably in his study upstairs. Or maybe sleeping. Right now mom was chatting with some customer on the other end of the room. And Eri was outside, sweeping the path leading to the café. Thus the coast was clear, he thought as he started to drink the milk. Of course there were one or two other people not far away from him, but they didn't really matter in this case. The same went for Sumire.

Keima did a spit take, coughed and then turned one more time, but it wasn't a hallucination caused by intensive gaming – Sumire was really in his home on Saturday and was looking at him.

"Good day, Keima!" she greeted him with a beaming smile.

"What are you doing here?" he asked while wiping the milk off his face.

"I just decided to visit you" she replied and then sat next to him on a stool and put some package on the counter. "And take care of your health while I'm at it."

"Health?" he repeated. "What do you mean?"

"That's exactly what I mean" she pointed at the soy milk. "Everyone needs proper nourishment. Even gamers. No, especially gamers!" she told him while unpacking the contents of her package.

It was a bentō and a small bowl of rāmen. The bowl wasn't steaming, but it was still warm.

"How come it hasn't cooled down yet?" Keima asked. "How long did you wait here?"

"Not long" she told him. Keima blinked. Did she know when he would get up? That was impossible... unless... he turned to glare at Eri. His sister had her back turned to him and was outside the house, but she suddenly started to clean more vigorously as if she somehow sensed his gaze.

"Okay, time to eat!" Sumire exclaimed. "And yes, I can make things beside rāmen. And no, it's not sweet."

Keima looked at the beaming girl. Was Sumire another one who was trying to reform him? Or maybe she believed that "the way to a man's heart was through his stomach"? Hmpf. He was not just a man, he was God of Conquest, so such low-level attempts meant nothing to him.

Still, she was offering him food for free and it would be probably better than the soy milk. There was no reason to refuse as long as he kept his guard up.

So he started eating. And as he expected the food was good. He glanced at Sumire who wore an expression of fulfillment – something that reminded him of Yui when she was watching him eat cake.

That wasn't the best of signs.

"What about your shop?" he asked.

"The shop is doing fine" Sumire said with a smile. "Unfortunately, because of school I don't have that much time to help dad as I had during the summer."

"And yet when weekend comes you are here instead of working at _your_ own shop."

"Being the owner means I can leave things to dad if I want" she replied without any hint of anger. "Besides, there's a reason I'm the owner. This reason is called 'Keima Katsuragi', so I see nothing wrong with wanting to thank him."

Keima couldn't really argue with that logic, so he just kept quiet.

"Is it good?" Sumire asked after a moment.

"Yeah" he wasn't really a gourmet, but he couldn't deny the quality of the food. And not only the rāmen. This girl had a serious cooking talent there.

"You would make a good wife."

Sumire widened her eyes in disbelief and Keima stopped with his chopsticks close to his mouth. He wasn't the one who said it. Both teens turned their heads to see Mari Katsuragi smiling at them.

"Don't you think so, Keima?" his mother asked him with a smile that wasn't particularly nasty, but it wasn't exactly gentle either.

Keima knew answering "no" would earn him mom's wrath. Moreover, it would be a lie, objectively speaking. On the other side answering "yes" would lead to a dangerous route. And it's not that he could keep quiet, because mom would then just assume God knows what.

"It's not like I know such things" he said turning away from both women. "But it's not unreasonable."

It's seemed to be effective enough, as he couldn't sense a dangerous aura from his mother and the blush on Sumire's face was still... manageable, so Keima survived this one. But it wasn't over, he thought, as he looked at his mother, dreading the next sentence to leave her mouth. And with good reason.

"Come to think of it, weren't you one of the girls that appeared here a few days ago?"

"Umm..." Sumire suddenly wasn't looking so sure of herself and Keima knew why. Talking with him or his mother in some cases was like walking through a mine field – results of a single misstep could be dire. However, now Sumire had to talk with both of them at the same time and what would appease his mother would probably anger him and the other way around. He was curious what Sumire would do in this kind of situation. Especially since she didn't have much time to think.

"Yes, I was" Sumire finally replied.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Keima's mother" Mari announced the obvious.

Keima noticed that Sumire had to stop herself from answering "I know". He also knew the rāmen girl was aware of how terrifying Mari could get.

"Excuse me for asking, but are you Keima's friend?" Mari asked.

"Well... I suppose you could say that" Sumire replied. "We're not very _close_ friends though."

"Are you going to school together?"

"No... actually I'm from Narusawa city."

"Ah" Mari said in realization. "So I guess you two met in a game shop or something."

"No we didn't" Keima told his mother with a casual voice.

"Actually" Sumire started. "Keima helped me with something some time ago."

"Keima did?" Mari asked, disbelief clear in her voice.

"I did it because Eri insisted. You know how she is" he replied and Sumire had to hand it to him – Keima managed to keep all the dangerous details out of the way and he didn't even have to lie in the process.

"My son really had to help you big time for you to bring him _breakfast_ " Mari noticed with a sweet smile.

"I-it's not like that" Sumire stuttered out, making it quite obvious that it was exactly like that.

"So, Keima" Mari turned to him now. "Those other girls back then. Did you help them too?"

"Actually, I made some of them angry" the gamer responded calmly and Sumire once again noticed it wasn't a lie – he had angered quite a lot of girls, even if he had helped them in the end.

Mari made a confused expression and then turned to Sumire again.

"Um... I promised my father I'll be back soon... so I need to be going" the rāmen lover said before Mari could utter a world. "Like right know" she grabbed the empty bowl before bowing. "Ugh... goodbye Katsuragi-san... see you around Keima" and with this she ran out of the café.

Keima sighed in relief and got off the stool. Back to gaming then-

"Keima" his mother called in a sing-song voice, stopping him dead in his tracks. "I think we should talk."

(* * *)

"That was mean, nii-sama!" Eri was flailing her arms, making it seem like she had six of them. This perfectly matched Keima's current appearance, as he was playing six games at once using his God of Conquest mode.

"What was?" Keima asked, getting up to change games.

"You laid all the blame on me!" Eri replied.

"Of course I did" he said as he sat down again. "Dokurō Skull orchestrated this, but it was _you_ who directly made me chase the runaway spirits! Besides I told you before – I got the short end of the stick. I was used by Dokurō, and I mean all three versions of her! I was used by New Hell and by you, Bah! I was even used by myself!" he gritted his teeth. "Thus, I think it's completely fine for you to take the blame once in a while. It's small price to pay for keeping mom uninvolved. I'm still surprised she bought it! And it was you who helped Sumire, wasn't it?"

Eri fumed in anger, but she remained quiet, proving that Keima had a point. Well, it's not like he was the only one to suffer. Dokurō Skull paid the ultimate price in order to execute her plan. And he didn't want to think about all the things that happened to Tenri.

Still, Eri was the one who profited the most. He wondered what she would do if she had to deal with a dozen of 2D boys pestering her to stop worshipping firetrucks.

"Anyway, I still have a backlog and I want to use the weekend to catch up with all the latest games" Keima said, exercising his fingers before another session of gaming. "And I would appreciate it I you could not disturb me."

"Fine!" Eri crossed her arms over her chest and walked out of his room.

You can't run forever, nii-sama, she thought. Not from all of us.

(* * *)

Keima stopped in front of the door and put his PFP back in his pocket. He hesitated for a moment. It wasn't the best of ideas after all, but it still was better than some others. So he rang the doorbell and waited. It was Sunday, so there was a high chance the plan wouldn't work, but seemed the luck was on his side today, because the door opened.

"Yes, wha-K-Keima-kun?"

"Good day, Tenri" Keima said to her.

The teen in the doorway looked at him, obviously surprised.

"W-what are you doing here, Keima-kun?" for once it was her and not him that asked this. He was doing it too often lately. "Did something happen?"

"No, I just wanted to get out of the house for today and I thought I could visit you" he replied.

It was the truth. His mother and Eri were getting on his nerves since yesterday and he had to tread carefully not to trigger any poison flags. And in his own house he was an easy target for girls. Of course, he had thought of just going out and wandering aimlessly, but there was still a chance he would meet someone he didn't want to meet, if his recent encounters were anything to go by.

And visiting Tenri was relatively good solution. Her house was close to his, she wouldn't mind him playing games, Chihiro wouldn't really mind either... probably. There were only two problems. First was Diana. As for the other one...

"Are your parents home?" he asked.

"No, they went to Narusawa city, they'll be back for dinner" she said. Keima couldn't understand why Tenri didn't go with them, but he didn't complain.

"So, can I come in?"

"Um... y-yes" Tenri replied, stepping aside and Keima entered her house. "B-but I'm not alone."

Keima turned around to look at her in disbelief. Not alone? It sounded as if...

"Did you bring some guy over while your parents were away?" he never expected her to move on so quickly.

"N-no!" Tenri replied with unusual firmness, making him step back. "I didn't mean that!"

"Then what did you mean?" he asked.

Clack.

Keima blinked then turned around and away from Tenri and proceeded further into her house.

Clack.

By the time Keima entered Tenri's living room he had already connected all the dots and thus wasn't all that surprised when he saw a girl sitting on the floor busying herself with arranging pieces on a shōgi board.

"Oh, it's Keima! Whazzup?" Nanaka Haibara said with a grin.

 **(* * *)**

 **Firstly, an apology to Shawn Raven: sorry if this chapter wasn't what you wanted it to be.**

 **To sum it up: here we have Jun foreshadowing her teacher campaign against Keima, Sumire trying to initiate a "lunchbox event" and Nanaka doing... what she does best. Nothing terribly important, except for Keima bouncing from one strange flag to another, just kind of "take it easy" chapter.**

 **If you liked it** ** **follow/favorite the story and** drop me a review :) If you didn't like, then tell me why :)**

 **And I guess that's it for now. See you next time!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Here goes our traditional omake, this time Chihiro-themed. I'm not sure if it's as good as I wanted it to be, but I tried.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima is depressed. Keima used Outrage.**

 **Wild normal real girl Chihiro appears!**

 **Chihiro used Taunt. Keima's defence fell. Keima got away safely.**

 **Elsie used Chatter. Keima used Outrage.**

 **Doro! Doro! Doro!**

 **Chihiro used Shove. Keima used Soundproof. But it failed! Elsie used Echoed Voice. Critical hit!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Elsie sent out Keima! Keima won't obey!**

 **Chihiro appears. Chihiro used Bestow. Chihiro used Confession. Handsome guy is confused!  
**

 **Keima flinched. Keima is paralyzed and may be unable to move!**

 **Handsome guy used Reject. Chihiro's defence fell! Chihiro has Drizzle! It started to rain!**

 **Chihiro got away safely.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Elsie used Chatter. Keima used Tranform. Keima turned into Shiori!**

 **Chihiro appears. Chihiro's defense fell! What will Keima do?**

 **Keima used Assurance. But it failed! Chihiro used Psych up. Keima is confused!**

 **Chihiro used Happy Hour. Chihiro used Attract. Keima used Rage. Keima's attack rose!**

 **Keima used Chatter. Keima used Tri Attack. It's not very effective.**

 **Chihiro used Counter. Keima flinched!**

 **Chihiro used Mirror Move. Chihiro used Tri Attack. It's super effective!**

 **Chihiro used Psybeam. Chihiro used Minimize. Keima transformed into Cockroach!**

 **Keima's defense greatly fell! Keima got away safely.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima is out of PP! Keima used Struggle.**

 **Previous conquest target Ayumi appears!**

 **Keima tried to walk away, but he has no PP left!**

 **Ayumi used Helping Hand. Ayumi dragged Keima away.**

 **Ayumi used Bestow. Keima obtained a secret stash of calories.**

 **Ayumi used Chatter. Keima used Counter. Ayumi is confued! She kicked Keima in her confusion!**

 **Ayumi used Helping Hand. Keima will clear the rooftop with Ayumi. Ayumi got away safely.**

 **Elsie appears. Keima used Hyper Beam.**

 **(* * *)**

 **Ayumi used Trick Room. Keima appears. Chihiro appears.**

 **Wild conquest target Yuuta appears! Chihiro used Dive.**

 **Keima used Flashback. Chihiro is confused!**

 **Yuuta is watching! Chihiro used Dive. Chihiro used Wrap. Keima is trapped!**

 **Chihiro used Helping Hand. Keima is now supporting Chihiro's love!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Wild conquest target Yuuta appears! Keima used Nasty Plot. Keima can now see Yuuta's route!**

 **Keima used Bestow. Chihiro obtained hot tea!**

 **Keima used Tackle. Chihiro kept going and crashed into Yuuta! Chihiro used Soak! It's super effective!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Chatter. Chihiro gained 1000 experience points!**

 **Keima used Chatter. Chihiro began to nap! Chihiro is fast asleep!**

 **(* * *)**

 **The rain continues to fall!**

 **Chihiro appears! Chihiro used Bestow. Chihiro made an offering to the God of Conquest! It's super effective!**

 **Chihiro has given up on the confession! Keima flinched! Keima's attack rose!**

 **Keima used Screech! Chihiro's defense fell! Chihiro used Counter! Chihiro used Shove. Chihiro got away safely!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Pursuit. Keima arrived at Akanemaru.**

 **Keima used Tackle. Keima and Chihiro kept going and crashed!**

 **Chihiro used Chatter. Keima used Counter. It's super effective.**

 **The rain continues to fall!**

 **Keima used Assurance. But it failed!**

 **Chihiro used Counter. Chihiro used Slack off. It's not very effective.**

 **Keima used Assurance. Chihiro's defense fell! Chihiro used Rage. Chihiro's attack rose!**

 **Chihiro used Pound. Hit 2 times!**

 **Keima used Assurance. Chihiro's defense fell!**

 **Chihiro used Rage. Chihiro's attack rose!**

 **Keima used Surprise Kiss. Chihiro is paralyzed and unable to move!**

 **Keima used Assurance. Keima used Promise-Of-A-Lifetime. Critical hit!**

 **The loose soul appears! Elsie used Imprison. Loose soul in custody!**


	19. Flag 19: Demonstration

**Hello, everyone!**

 **Here goes Flag 19 of the KamiNomiNai!**

 **Some usual announcements...**

 **As always, I want to thank you for all your views, favs, favorites and reviews, including the Spanish one (good thing it was simple enough to translate), even though it seems a little weird.**

 **Also some good and bad news. The good news is: the Flags 21 and 22 are more or less done... The bad news is: the overall progress is far from satisfactory. The truth is I have some 10k words beyond Flag 22... but they are just loose fragments for now (they _do_ contain some rather romantic scenes though).  
**

 **Well... I've got some other things to say, but those are best left after the chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(* * *)**

Keima quickly assessed the situation. Dealing with Nanaka wasn't _too_ bad, but maybe he could still avoid it. Just as he was thinking that, he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"I hope you're not planning to leave us so soon, Katsuragi-san" he turned to the side to see Diana, her face a strange combination of defiant and pleased.

Keima only sighed in response.

(* * *)

"How come I'm playing against Tenri?" he asked, trying to focus on both his PFP and the board.

"Cause we're doin' a tournament and we need to make brackets!" Nanaka told him, her grin never leaving her face. "Me and Diana have already beaten ya in the past, so it's obvious ya'll fight against Tenri!"

"So it's 'Tenri' now, not 'Ayukawa' and you're addressing Diana pretty casually as well" Keima glanced at Nanaka.

"Haha... is that so strange?" the girl in question scratched her head (mostly her hair) in embarrassment.

"Well... I don't mind" the goddess responded from the full-size mirror standing next to Tenri.

"Anyway, I'm not going to hold back, Tenri" Keima said, but his childhood friend only nodded in acknowledgement.

Tenri wasn't on a level of the God of Conquest, the tactician goddess or a shōgi professional like Nanaka, so Keima defeated her. However, he was still amazed how well she played. I mean, he knew that already, but experiencing it first-hand felt different. Truth be told, he had been underestimating Tenri quite a lot. She might be shy and socially inept, but she was also surprisingly determined and cunning.

And not just her. Ayumi being smart and perceptive. Urara lecturing him. Shiori openly trying to ask him out. Those were certainly flags he hadn't been expecting.

No, those weren't actual flags. Flags only appeared in games.

"Alright" he asked. "What now?"

(* * *)

Nanaka originally mentioned an elimination tournament, but what actually occurred was an all-play-all tournament with six matches. To his surprise Keima wasn't really bothered by it – after all playing galge, playing shōgi and talking at the same time wasn't difficult for him, so he couldn't say that he was bored or annoyed.

And he wasn't the only one. Tenri remained the most shy and quiet of them, but she was smiling gently from time to time and seemed to have fun. It wasn't really surprising, after all it was the first time she got to spend time with all three of her friends.

It was also one of the few times when Diana's attitude towards him was non-hostile, friendly even. She hadn't hurt or insulted him. She hardly even threatened him. And when it wasn't her turn to play she had been sneaking glances at him – during some of them the goddess had the usual implacable look on her face, while during others her features were more gentle, sad even. Keima tried not to think about it too deep, only deep enough to predict any unexpected flags.

But none were raised.

All in all, he hoped Diana will continue to act friendly, as he certainly didn't want to return to the time when goddesses were after his head. Speaking of goddesses after his head... he was curious whether Vulcan decided to forgive him... or was just busy concocting some nasty plot to punish him for doing... whatever she thought he had been doing to Tsukiyo.

Lastly there was Nanaka. In the railway station she didn't try to stake any claims to him. And it seemed that she was the kind of girl who wasn't really interested in anything beside shōgi, let alone romance. But he had been wrong before. For example, near the end of her conquest Keima was almost certain it would be fine without a kiss. And even if the kiss was necessary he reasoned that he would need to give Nanaka a push or two for it to happen, but she did it on her own.

The orange-haired girl was now acting pretty much how he expected her too act. She was grinning and scratching her head a lot. She was also the noisiest of all four of them and didn't hesitate to voice her opinions on her, her opponent's or someone else's matches. She was outspoken and took things at face value, similarly to Ayumi. Thanks to this Keima had been able to complete her conquest smoothly, similar to Minami's. Ironically, the same thing made Nanaka quite easy to distract with in-game conversations. Not that she wasn't aware of that.

"Hey, quit with the talkin'! This ain't some literary evening or karaoke party!" she would say. "Let's play shōgi!"

Still, at times she would relax and glance at Keima with curious expression, but only when she was sure he wouldn't notice.

In the end Tenri lost all three matches, but she was still smiling as if she won them all. Diana won all of hers, but Keima and Nanaka didn't go down easily, both managing to threaten the goddess more than once.

And then came Nanaka and Keima's match. Keima was a gamer through and through, but Nanaka was aiming to be a pro and he felt that she had truly surpassed him by now. And then she started to make mistakes.

"Well, losin' is not so bad once in a while, ya know?" she said when she lost. Then she grinned at him and Keima understood.

She let him win.

And he wasn't bothered by it in the slightest.

(* * *)

While they were playing Tenri was looking happy, but in a gentle and quiet manner. However, when Nanaka offered to watch her magical tricks, the dark-haired teen perked up instantly and turned into the most energetic person among them (besides Nanaka herself of course).

It wasn't like Keima really disliked Tenri's magical tricks. It's just that he was aware of how such tricks worked and he wasn't particularly interested in them. And he knew that was her way of raising a flag with him, so he had to refuse, especially for the sake of his gaming time. Moreover, Tenri's eagerness to show him her tricks proved that she didn't really have anyone else to show them to, which bothered him as well.

Now however it was different, as Nanaka seemed genuinely interested in Tenri's magical skills and Diana was torn between being excited and proud. Keima mostly played his games, while observing them. Unlike him, Nanaka had no idea how the tricks worked, so she was very much astounded by them. She also had no problem with serving as an assistant whenever Tenri needed someone to lock the chains or anything like that.

Next came conversations and Keima suddenly felt like he was a spectator of a hen party, made even weirder because Tenri and Nanaka should have enough time in school to talk about things. And they weren't exchanging gossip on hot guys in their school. No. They were exchanging opinions about the things that happened in the past, Keima's conquests in particular.

"And remember when Keima and that drummer switched bodies?" Nanaka asked, a glass of ginger ale in her hand. She wasn't drunk, but she certainly acted like it. "The looks on peoples' faces when she was acting nice in his body! It was hilarious!" she grinned at Keima, who pretended not to notice. Tenri just smiled. She was doing it quite lot lately, he noticed.

"Katsuragi-san" he heard and turned to see Diana in the mirror close enough to him, so Tenri wouldn't see or hear her talking.

"Hmm?" he asked while continuing to play his games.

"I know that it's rude of me to ask you such question now" she started. "But I need to know what you intend to do now"

"I assume you're talking about my relationship with Tenri."

"Obviously."

"You've seen the letter" he said, trying to sound neutral. "You know my decision."

"Yes" Diana replied, still observing the two girls discussing about God knows what. "But that was before" she eyed him briefly. "You can't pretend that nothing changed... I'm not trying to coerce you into anything... but I need confirmation."

"I intend to follow Chihiro's route" Keima replied. "Sometime in the future... Well... calling it a route in her case in inaccurate, but you know what I mean."

Diana nodded. "If you say so... I don't think Tenri would try anything, but I know she won't be able to just forget about you" the goddess said. "And I still think she's the best girl for you... especially since you don't seem to plan to just disappear from her life."

Keima didn't reply.

"However, I feel I should warn you" Diana said after a moment, making him look at her in surprise. "This is no longer a game. This is the real world. And you've been underestimating it."

"If you want to tell me something, then say it in a way I can understand it" he told her.

"I mean that I'm fairly certain some other girls won't give up this easily" she looked at him. "Especially since you finally began to pay attention to the real world."

"What that has to do with anything?" Keima asked.

"Everything" Diana told him. "Your one method of defense would be to return to your gaming world completely, but I don't see you doing it. I don't know if this is because you feel guilty or because you just decided to merge with the real more, but important thing is the result."

"Which is?"

"The girls will be more attracted to you now, because they think their chances are higher. Nikaidō told you this, right? That 'you were getting along so well with other girls'. I know you're smart enough to be aware of it. I just ask you to think before making any steps. With anyone."

"Look who's talking" Keima replied, but without any ill intent. "Like you weren't the one making harsh decision for the sake of bringing me and Tenri together."

"I won't say I wasn't" Diana replied with a slight blush.

"Hey! Hey! What are ya two talkin' about?" Keima suddenly found Nanaka's face dangerously close to his own.

She was looking at him with an expression that could only be described as challenging, a sly knowing smirk plastered on her face.

And Keima was quite surprised when he realized her boisterous actions weren't nowhere near annoying as he expected them to be.

(* * *)

"Oi, Ayumi. Are you ready, yet? We have to go!" Izumi Ishikiri called.

"Then just go!" the runner replied, she only managed to take of the upper garment of her uniform. "I'll be with you in a minute!"

It was Tuesday. Ayumi was currently in the girls' dressing room and she was kind of late for her running practice. Well, she was a star of the team, so it would be no big deal if she arrived a little late. Miyako and Izumi were a different case however...

She had just finished changing into her running uniform and approached the mirror in order to fix her hair when...

"Kyaaah!" she cried out and turned around when she noticed another reflection in the mirror.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" the other person said. Well... it wasn't exactly a person.

It was a floating doll. And it looked familiar.

"Uh... wait... are you a goddess?" Ayumi asked.

"Yes, The name's Vulcan."

Ayumi shook her head. She almost got a heart attack. "You want to talk with Mel right? Just wait a moment" the runner asked. The goddess certainly chose a bad time for this.

"No, this time I didn't want to talk with Mercury. I wanted to talk with you" Vulcan said.

Ayumi blinked. "W-with me?"

"Yes. After you're done with practice I would like you to go somewhere."

"W-what? Why? Is something happening?" Ayumi asked.

"No, it's not what you think. It's just an invitation. I don't want to talk about it here" the goddess responded.

"Invitation? That means I can refuse, right?" Ayumi packed her things in the locker and closed it. "Because I don't really want to get involved with any more magical stuff. No offense" she added.

"None taken" the doll responded. "And yes, you can refuse. However, I think you should accept this invitation. Especially if you don't want to regret anymore."

Ayumi blinked again. "What do you mean?"

(* * *)

"D-don't get me wrong! I didn't do it for you, so... just know that!" the girl with narrowed eyes said from one of the six monitors.

The girl didn't say anything more because Keima had already pressed the button to advance the game. He was using God of Conquest more right now, but he had trouble concentrating properly. And he knew the reason. Diana's words still played inside of his head. What she said wasn't exactly new to him, but hearing it from someone else than himself was different.

And the funny thing was that none of the girls seemed to currently go after him. When the weekend ended Keima was very much expecting further developments, but it turned out that Sumire and Nanaka were the only encounters as of late. Urara didn't ask him for help so far. Mio didn't bother him, even though he had passed her in the corridor today. And the same went for Kusunoki yesterday. Kanon was absent as usual. Nothing. He didn't even notice Minami looking at him from afar. As ridiculous as it sounded his mother was more of a pain than the girls these past few days.

Not counting Eri of course.

One hand hand, it was logical – it could be the effect of the emails he had sent some time ago to get the girls off his back for some time. On the other hand... the real was rarely this cooperative. Very rarely.

In short, he was having this distinct feeling that something was about to happen any moment now, but nothing did. The most unusual event today was Ayumi's disapproving glance when he was playing his games in Kodama's class.

He had been thinking about it for some time now, but he hadn't been able to figure anything out. And this was how he had ended up in his room, playing games like there was no tomorrow. He didn't know what was about to happen, but he knew it was best to play his games while he still could.

(* * *)

It was late afternoon and the November sky darkened considerably, but the interior of the astronomy club room remained illuminated by the combined efforts of the settling sun and electricity. The chairs and couches that were usually placed orderly had been moved to form a disorderly circle of sorts around the central table, packed with various snacks. In other words it was similar to when goddesses had gathered to talk about Keima's journey.

Only this time it wasn't just the goddesses that gathered here.

Tsukiyo was slowly sipping on her tea, glancing around, obviously not used to seeing that many people in her clubroom. To her left Shiori was sitting, seemingly completely immersed in the astronomy book she had picked from one of the shelves before others had arrived. Next to her was Ayumi and the bookworm kept glancing at her nervously, clearly scared by the physical prowess of the athletic girl, especially since the runner was looking rather displeased... or maybe she was simply the only one who openly displayed her annoyance.

Pop... Pop...

The faint sound of bubble wrap popping brought Tsukiyo's attention to Tenri, who for some reason looked the most nervous of all the people here. Well, it wasn't that surprising, but still... In Tenri's defense Kanon sitting next to her looked nervous as well, something one would not expect from a famous idol. Maybe that was because right here the pink-haired girl was nothing out of the ordinary – just another goddess host. Or maybe all of them seemed to look nervous when compared to Tsukiyo's classmate who was sitting on her right – Yui definitely wasn't nervous. Actually, it was more like she was ever vigilant, expecting a competition to start any moment now.

Or maybe the awkward atmosphere had less to do with any of the girls and more with the faces of the goddesses visible on any reflective surface available nearby.

In other words Tsukiyo had a feeling this meeting wouldn't end beautifully.

"Alright" Vulcan's voice was heard from the ornamental mirror standing a little behind Tsukiyo. "First, I apologize for asking you to come here on such a short notice and I'm glad that all of you managed to come" this last remark was directed mostly to Kanon and Tenri. Both girls nodded slightly as if they were twins.

"Yeah, yeah" Apollo, the second goddess, losing in seniority only to Vulcan spoke. "Can we leave the pleasantries aside? Why is the point of this meeting?"

"I would like to know that as well" Tsukiyo said, turning to her goddess.

"Well, I'm sure all of you already suspect why we have gathered here" the oldest goddess looked at everyone before continuing. "Katsuragi."

If any of the high schoolers tried to maintain their composure then all of them failed in one way or another. The most obvious one was Shiori, who dropped her book with a soft and quiet "Aah!". Tsukiyo looked to the side, her face displaying anger, but inside she felt many more strange emotions, most of them definitely not beautiful.

Pop, pop, pop. At this rate Tenri was going to be out of the bubble wrap in no time, making Diana sigh in her own mirror, but Tenri wasn't the only one of the two with a blush. Kanon was also blushing, probably feeling ashamed of her own feelings. Ayumi was the sole exception, seemingly completely ignoring the mention of Keima.

"What's there to talk about?!" Yui exclaimed, standing up. "I'll fight for Katsuragi's love and-!"

"Mars" Vulcan said narrowing her eyes. The blond goddess was a warrior, but she was the second youngest of the Jupiter Sisters and wasn't stupid enough to openly object her oldest sister, thus she quickly took control of her host and brought Yui down on her seat again.

"Sorry for that nee-sama" Mars said, trying for an apologetic smile.

"So it's another discussion about who's going to be Katsuragi's lover?" Mercury asked, the topic apparently not interesting enough to awake her completely.

"Not exactly" Vulcan said. "I actually think there's no point for going after that... man" the goddess finished. Huh... it sounded weird without adding things like "fiend" and "filthy man", she thought, but she no longer had any real reason to call him such names.

"Ooh! Newsflash!" Apollo announced. "Vul-nee's host is going to give up on Katsuragi again!"

"Whaa?" Tsukiyo stood up and pointed a finger at Kanon's goddess. "I never said that!"

"So you're a rival after all!" it was Yui's turn to point a finger at Tsukiyo, startling the smaller girl.

"Shiori's going to fight too!" Minerva waved her hands. "C'mon Shiori say something!" but the bookworm girl sank deeper into her chair.

"Ano..." Tenri tried to calm them down, but she was stopped by Diana's voice.

"Tenri! What are you doing? You need to stake your claim on Katsuragi!"

Ayumi facepalmed.

God only knows what would've become of this discussion if it wasn't for Vulcan.

"Enough!" Luna was no longer in Tsukiyo's hands – the doll was now floating above the table, the tableware flying all around her in an obvious display of power. There was even a pair of scissors.

"I know that this is a sensitive issue for all of us and that you're all guests here" Vulcan said in a cold voice. "But I will not tolerate such behavior in Tsukiyo's presence!"

"Aah... we're all listening, nee-sama" Apollo laughed nervously once Luna was back at Tsukiyo's side. "Please continue."

"As I was saying... going after Katsuragi is meaningless. I don't want to admit it, but it's true – that Kosaka girl left all of our hosts in the dust. Katsuragi might still be quite far from accepting her, but that's only a matter of time. And even if any of you succeeded, then you'd have to pay for it. Do you really want to compete with each other? Aren't you afraid of hate that can be born from this?"

"With all due respect nee-sama!" it was Mars who responded from her mirror. "We all know this! Yes, it's far from perfect, but it won't be so simple to move on! Especially now!"

"Mars! Stop this!" Diana exclaimed in panic when she saw the silverware and snacks start to float again courtesy of Luna. Apollo briefly switched with Kanon and snatched a flying cookie while observing the exchange of opinions.

"No, I won't stop!" Mars then addressed all of them. "We're the Jupiter Sisters! The goddesses of love! Don't try to pretend like you don't know what your hosts feel!" the remaining goddesses went silent at that. Vulcan narrowed her eyes further, but said nothing. "Yes, the chances of victory are slim and there can be only one winner! But I won't concede just to regret it later! Your host said it yourself, Vul-neesama!" Mars pointed finger at Tsukiyo. "If Katsuragi finally chooses someone then let it be, but now he is still single and I can guarantee the six here will go after him anyway!"

"I won't!" Ayumi told the goddess, her face slightly pink, but to her surprise Mars smiled at her. "I know... I meant five humans and one goddess. Right, Diana?"

"Wha-what?" the goddess in question mumbled out, her cheeks matching the color of her eyes.

"Don't 'what' us, my cute little sister" it was now Apollo's turn to speak. "Thanks to the memories we are now certain you _really_ fell in love with Katsuragi."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about" Diana looked away.

Tenri smiled and Apollo shook her head.

"Anyway" it was back to Mars. "You shouldn't lie to yourself nee-sama" she was addressing Vulcan again. "I know this situation is all kinds of wrong, but do you have any better idea than just giving up?"

"Yes, I do" Vulcan replied. After that there were several seconds of perfect silence.

"You... you do?" Apollo asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Yes" the oldest goddess responded. "While you were just fighting each other or losing your judgment" a passing look directed at Diana "I was thinking of another solution."

"Y-you mean a solution d-different than giving up or fighting?" Minerva asked.

"Yes... and no."

At this Apollo laughed. "Hehe... I'm too stupid after all" the pink-haired goddess said. "What you said doesn't make sense to me."

"It's not just you" Diana commented. "Vul-neesama, what are you talking about?"

"A harem ending!" Yui shouted, startling everyone. "Well, it's not what I originally planned, but I guess it will do. There's nothing wrong with having several wives and-"

A pillow was hurled at the drummer with enough force to knock her over along with her chair.

"Oww!" the girl exclaimed after she landed on the floor. "What was that for?"

"How dare you even suggest such an idea!" Vulcan responded, seething in anger.

"Okay... so let's make sense out of it" Diana said, before the situation could escalate any further. "Your solution is not going for Katsuragi, nor giving up. And certainly not... the other thing. So what is it?"

"It'll be easier to just show you" at this Luna floated to the other part of the room, eleven curious pairs of eyes following her. Several seconds later she was back, carrying something.

"What's that?" Kanon and Yui both asked at the same time.

"Something you could call a trial version of my solution" Luna said, putting the object on the table and everyone leaned closer to see better.

"Huh?" Yui said. "Isn't that the orb thingy that was used to send Keima-kun to the past?"

"No" Tenri replied. "It's similar, but it's different."

And she was right. The orb was a little smaller and much darker then the one she remembered. Moreover, its inside wasn't empty, but filled with strange markings.

"That's not Hellian, that's the language of Heaven!" Diana noticed. "But these markings doesn't make sense! Unless... it's a spell."

"Vul-neesama..." all eyes turned to look at Mercury who was completely awake by now and had a serious expression on her face. "Does this have anything to do with your request from before?"

"Yes, it does" Vulcan replied.

"Huh? Request? What request?" Apollo demanded to know. All eyes were now focused on Vulcan.

"Don't look at me like that!" the goddess exclaimed. "Since long ago I was searching for a way to ensure Tsukiyo's happiness."

"Without telling me anything about it?" the blond goddess host asked with a tint of disappointment.

"I couldn't tell you before" Vulcan replied with shame clear in her voice. "I didn't want to give you false hope before it was done."

"Done?!" Mars all but shouted. "What was done. What is this?"

"Don't tell me that you're planning to send your host to the past to claim Katsuragi for herself?" Diana glared at Vulcan. "Tampering with time is dangerous!"

"I know that! I'm not that stupid!" Vulcan responded with a glare on her own. "No, I'm not planning a time travel."

"So what _are_ you planning then... um... ma'am?" surprisingly it was Kanon who asked that question.

"As I said, it would be easier to just show you" Luna grabbed the orb and floated just above the table. "All of you" she said, indicating every goddess host. "Need to touch it."

Yui gladly put her hand on the orb, but the others weren't so eager to do it.

"What will h-happen if we touch it?" Shiori was the one who asked the question.

"Is it safe?" Tsukiyo added.

"Yes..." Vulcan replied. "It will be more like a projection into your minds. Think of it as a movie."

This seemed to convince Tsukiyo, Shiori and Kanon and, after a few more moments of hesitation, Tenri followed suit. Luna then turned to look at the last girl.

"Takahara-san."

"I told you: I have no intention of going after Katsuragi!" the runner girl responded, arms crossed over her chest, but her determined expression faltered when Vulcan gave her a glare.

"Yes, you said that before and I'm not telling you to go after him" the goddess responded calmly before narrowing her eyes. "But I went through a lot of trouble to make this, so you better not try my patience."

"Do it, Ayumi" Mercury said, her drowsiness long gone. "Let's see what my exalted sister came up with."

Ayumi moved closer and carefully stretched out her arm, swallowing before finally touching the orb with the tips of her fingers.

And nothing happened.

"Umm... what now?" Kanon asked in a small voice.

In response Vulcan started to whisper words that could be anything but Japanese. It had to be an incantation of sorts, because the orb started to shine.

"Aah!" Shiori yelped.

"What is this?" Yui asked, but without a hint of fear.

Ayumi on the other hand tried to pull her arm back, but she found out that she couldn't – it was as if the orb was sucking her in.

"Hold tight!" Vulcan announced, her words understandable once more. "Here we go!"

Tsukiyo's eyes shot opened when the orb flashed.

And then there was darkness.

 **(* * *)**

 **So, here we have a shōgi tournament, Keima with a bad feeling... and the gathering of the goddess hosts! And it seems Vulcan has some ace up her sleeve! What could this ace be? You need to read the next chapter to find out!  
**

 **I won't deny it – the next chapter will be a very important one (as you can guess). Probably the most important one so far. When it will be posted some things will finally be revealed and explained. So be excited!  
**

 **However, this next chapter is roughly 5.5k words, so I plan to post it a week from now, so on 8th of October... I could post it a little sooner, but for that I have to make more progress with the further chapters. And that works better with more motivation.**

 **And one of the best sources of motivation are your reviews, so don't hesitate to drop me one, especially if you haven't done it before!  
**

 **See you next time!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Here we go with the omake, this time for Jun Nagase as expected:**

 **Wild teacher trainee Jun appears!**

 **Jun used Happy Hour. Jun used Growl. Jun said "Ooh!" Students' defense fell!**

 **Galge gamer Keima appears! Jun is confused!**

 **Keima used Happy Hour. Jun's defense fell!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Jun bought a Soba Sandiwch. Jun used Psych up! Jun's attack rose!**

 **Jun used Conversion. It doesn't affect Keima! Jun is hit with recoil! Jun flinched!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Jun used Pysh up! Jun's special attack rose! Jun's special defense fell!**

 **Wild loose soul appears! Loose soul used Dive. Loose soul used Curse. Jun is now poisoned!**

 **(* * *)**

 **De Engirish crass begins!**

 **Jun appears!**

 **Doro! Doro! Doro!**

 **Keima and Elsie are confused!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Elsie sent out Keima! Keima won't obey!**

 **Keima got away safely... not! Jun used Block. Keima can't escape now!**

 **Jun used Chatter. It didn't affect Keima!**

 **Jun used Happy Hour. Keima's defense fell!**

 **Jun used Helping Hand. Keima's defense fell!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Elsie used Substitute. Buit it failed!**

 **Keima used Rage. Keima's attack rose!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Jun used Low Kick. It doesn't affect Keima.**

 **Keima used Mirror Move. Keima used Low Kick. But it missed! The ball kept going and crashed... into Nikaidou!**

 **Nikaidou appears! Nikaidou's Intimidation cuts Keima's attack! Nikaidou used Rage. Nikaidou's attack rose!**

 **Nikaidou used Pound. Nikaidou used Mega Kick. It's super effective! Critical hit!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Beep! Beep! Beep!**

 **Amateur gamer Jun wants to fight!**

 **Jun used PFP. But it failed!**

 **Jun used Assurance. Jun used Helping Hand. But it failed!**

 **Keima used Glare. Jun is paralyzed! She may be unable to move!**

 **Keima used Rage. Keima's attack rose! Jun is unable to move!**

 **Keima used Screech! Jun's defense greatly fell!**

 **Elsie appears! Elsie used Pound. Keima fainted!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Assist. It doesn't affect Nikaidou!**

 **Nikaidou used Grudge. Keima's attack fell!**

 **Keima used Charm. It's not very effective.**

 **Jun and Kodama appear!**

 **Kodama used Screech. Jun's defense greatly fell!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Keima used Assist. Keima is now helping Nikaidou!**

 **Keima used Struggle. It's not very effective.**

 **Nikaidou used Pay Day. Keima gives up!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Students are loafing around. Jun used Rage. Jun's attack rose!**

 **Jun used Growl. Students' attack fell! Students are intimidated!**

 **Jun flinched! Jun's defense fell!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Jun appears! Jun used Ticket. Keima used Trick. Keima has now Ticket as well! Jun is confused!**

 **Keima used Helping Hand. Keima used Double Team. Jun is now sitting with Keima!**

 **Jun used Wrap. Keima's defense fell!**

 **Jun used Chatter. Keima used Counter. Jun is paralyzed! Jun's defense fell!**

 **Jun got away safely!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Jun used Helping Hand. Students are loafing around.**

 **Jun used Screech. Jun got away safely.**

 **Keima used Growl. The class relations with Jun have been reset!**

 **Keima used Future Sight. Keima can see the ending!**

 **Keima used Substitute. Elsie used Counter. Elsie started to count!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Jun opens a locker. Keima appears!**

 **Jun used Rage! Jun's attack rose! Keima used Chatter. Jun's defense fell!**

 **Keima used Assurance. It's super effective!**

 **Students appear. Students used Apologize. Jun's stats rose!**

 **(* * *)**

 **Jun used Bike.**

 **Keima appears. Keima used Return. Jun's defense fell! Jun's defense rose!**

 **Jun used Surprise Farewell Kiss.**

 **The loose soul appears! Elsie used Imprison. Loose soul in custody!**


	20. Flag 20: A new beginning

**Hello, everyone!**

 **Here it is. The long awaited Flag 20 of The World Not Only God Knows!**

 **The chapter itself is longer than any other chapter (counting with or without author's notes). Actually, even without author's notes it is longer than any other chapter _with_ them, except for Flag 16.**

 **I have a lot of things to say this time, but they are better left after you read the chapter... I only ask all of you to be gentle with your opinions.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **P.S. If someone thinks that Eri taking the laundry down from balcony in _November_ is weird, then just remember that Eri is weird as well. That's the only explanation I have.**

 **(* * *)**

For a second or two Tsukiyo couldn't understand what happened or where she was. Only then she realized she was in her own room. The clock on her bedside table read 6:48 AM. Tsukiyo rose to sitting position and tried to compose herself.

Was it a dream? She awoke abruptly before the alarm, so it was probably some nightmare. Ugh, that was not beautiful. However, when Tsukiyo tried to remember what the nightmare was about she couldn't quite grasp it. It scared her, because it felt similar to when her memories of Keima had been erased.

Wait, Keima!

Tsukiyo spent several minutes searching through her memory, but it seemed like everything was fine, she hadn't forgotten anything important.

Finally, she got out of her bed and then walked to her human-sized (or more like Tsukiyo-sized) mirror. And grimaced.

There were days when she could just wake up and look beautiful without much work needed. And there were days like this when it took ten minutes to just get her hair under control. Sigh. No-one said being beautiful was easy.

She had just finished grooming herself when the mirror flashed, revealing Vulcan.

"Good morning, Tsukiyo" the goddess greeted her.

"Good morning" the star-lover responded with a small unguarded smile. Yes, people were no longer all ugly to her – Vulcan, Keima and Shiori had proven to her that there was still more beauty to be discovered in this world and in forms Tsukiyo hadn't previously thought possible.

"You are spacing out again" Vulcan said, making Tsukiyo blink.

"I was thinking about something" the girl replied.

"Or someone" the goddess responded.

"T-that's not it" Tsukiyo said. Vulcan didn't comment about her stuttering. Or blushing.

Vulcan was a goddess of love. Oldest of the Jupiter Sisters. And she received the memories collected by Satyr. With this she understood how Katsuragi operated and no longer held any grudges against him.

But still, it was impossible for her to understand _how_ Tsukiyo fell in love with that man.

(* * *)

"Good morning!" Tsukiyo was startled a little bit and turned around only to see the smiling face of Yui. Her classmate. Possibly her friend. And rival in love.

"Good morning" she replied as calmly and elegantly as she could muster. Talking with people wasn't as easy as she remembered. Especially if those people were pushy, straight-forward, cross-dressing tomboys.

"Wha-what?" Tsukiyo mumbled out when she noticed Yui leaning closer. Much closer. Did she mention about Yui being pushy?

"Nothing" the drummer responded. "I just remembered that I used to always think of you as a cold and scary girl, but you're surprisingly gentle. And you're really like a doll."

Tsukiyo didn't really know how to respond. Was it just an honest compliment? Or maybe...

"Are you trying to get on my good side?" it was a long shot but...

"Ahaha! You saw right through me" Yui scratched the back of her head, not paying any attention that the people around could hear them.

"We may be friends now, but I'm not going to forfeit Keima to you" Tsukiyo said with closed eyes and nose raised high, going for the "high and mighty" approach. Well, that's how she viewed it, but she knew Keima would call it something like a "tsundere armor"... That in itself was a rather strange realization a girl could have about herself. She was a tsundere.

Or maybe a kuudere.

Tsukiyo was brought out of her private reverie when Yui spoke again.

"Oh... don't be like that" the blond girl didn't like the sly smile on Yui's lips. The other girl gently cupped Tsukiyo's cheek and leaned closer.

What. What? What!?

Tsukiyo was getting light headed. The fact that Yui was wearing male clothing didn't help her situation at all.

"We're in the same boat here, you know? We shouldn't fight, don't you think?" Yui said in a sweet tone and Tsukiyo immediately understood that the cross-dressing girl was much stronger enemy than she thought.

"So, let's just get along and-waah!" Yui stopped when she was pulled back. Tsukiyo inwardly sighed in relief.

"What are you doing?!" the girl who saved her asked, giving Yui a stern gaze. Tsukiyo recognized the girl as both her classmate and one of Keima's... acquaintances. Her name was...

"Mio!" Yui answered Tsukiyo's inner question. "What was that for?! I was just messing with her!"

"That exactly what that was for" the other blond replied and then sat on a chair right in front of Tsukiyo. It wasn't her assigned seat.

"What's the matter?" Yui turned her attention to Mio. "Is this some kind of blond girls solidarity?"

"You know, I liked you more when you were just a quiet shy girl" Mio remarked.

"Ah! So you're jealous and afraid of my assertiveness, is that it?" Yui asked with a self-confident expression.

"Don't listen to what she says" Mio told Tsukiyo completely ignoring Yui talking in the background. The moon-lover instantly felt some kind of connection between the two of them that went beyond blond hair, flat chests, unimpressive heights or being ojōsamas. Or tsunderes.

Was this how having friends felt like? It was both similar and different to Tsukiyo's interactions with Shiori.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Yui exclaimed and sat on the very same chair Mio was sitting on, almost making the smaller girl fall off.

"Hey!" Mio replied with fierceness that rivaled or maybe even surpassed Yui's. "Don't treat me like a piece of furniture!"

"Oh, I'm very sorry, milady! Please forgive this commoner" Yui said in a theatrical voice while feigning being deeply hurt by the smaller girl's words.

"Don't even _think_ about trying this one on me!" Mio shot back and the two of them were now bickering, not stopping until the class actually started.

This was a little embarrassing and certainly not beautiful, Tsukiyo thought five minutes later as she was trying to listen to the teacher. But it wasn't that bad.

Having friends.

(* * *)

The classes finally ended and Tsukiyo was on her way to the library, planning to visit Shiori and maybe persuade the bookworm to hang out outside. However...

"Why are you following me?" she asked, turning to Yui who was walking alongside her. "Don't you have club practice?"

"Not today" the tomboy replied. "And I just so happen to be going to the library as well."

Tsukiyo narrowed her eyes, but said nothing.

"Ah, K-Kujō-san" Tsukiyo stopped and blinked when she saw Shiori already walking in her direction.

"Huh? You're not in the library?" it was Yui who asked this question and Shiori immediately took a step back – only now did she realize Yui was here.

"N-no... I decided to leave early today."

"Good, that saves me the trouble of going there" Yui exclaimed happily. "Say, does the library have any books on how to get a guy to fall in love with you?"

Tsukiyo almost dropped Luna when she heard that question, then turned to Yui, incredulous look on her face.

"Aah..." Shiori started with a book covering her face as usual. "W-we have over 20 books on that t-topic... and if you mean a general d-dating advice then t-there's additional 70... I t-think..."

"Shiori!" Tsukiyo exclaimed, startling the bookworm. "What are you telling her this?!" the blond pointed her finger at Yui. "Don't you realize she wants to read those books to get Keima away from you?!"

"B-but I'm a librarian... i-it's my duty."

"Well said" Yui told them while nodding her head in approval. But Tsukiyo wouldn't have it.

"Listen Shiori" she started. "Right now outside of the library you're not a librarian, but just a student. You have no obligation to tell her anything. Now come!" she grabbed Shiori's hand and dragged her towards the school gate.

"Ah... K-Kujō-san-"

"You can just call me Tsukiyo, you know?"

"Um... Tsukiyo... -san..." Shiori corrected herself. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere. Anywhere this shameless woman won't follow us!" Tsukiyo said obviously meaning Yui.

They were already close to the school gate, but if Tsukiyo thought that Yui would just leave them alone then she was wrong.

"Hey, wait! I still have something to say, you know?" the girl in question followed after them, seemingly not bothered by being called shameless.

"No, we won't wait."

"Ano..." Shiori tried to say something.

"I'm telling you to wait! I'm just-" Yui then stopped abruptly.

"Yes, just stay there!" Tsukiyo practically ordered her with a victorious smile.

"Umm... Tsukiyo-san" Shiori caught her attention and then pointed to the gate.

Tsukiyo turned around and for a few seconds she couldn't figure out what Shiori meant. And then she saw them.

"Umm... Nakagawa-san?"

The coat, scarf, glasses and beret were all in place and when combined resulted in an outfit that made it rather difficult to recognize the famous idol. But Tsukiyo still did.

"Aah, Kujō-san?" Kanon said before noticing the two behind her. "Shiomiya-san? Goidō-san?"

The three of them didn't respond, busy watching the other person leaning against the school gate. Kanon being at Mai High was a rare occurrence. But still, she at least attended the school.

Unlike Tenri.

"Umm... h-hello" the shy teen said, eyes hidden behind her bangs, fingers popping the bubble wrap, but it was to be expected with all the people walking and talking around them. Tenri was still not good with crowds of strangers.

"That's funny" Yui noticed looking at each girl in turn. "Is there supposed to be a goddess meeting or something?"

"Umm, in that case T-Takahara-san would be missing" Shiori mumbled out.

"Huh? Do you hear that?" Kanon sad, as if on cue.

All five of them turned in the direction of the sound that seemed like footsteps. Fast. And approaching.

"Aah!" was all that Yui managed to say before she was knocked over.

"Ugh... I'm sorry" Ayumi said. "I wasn't watching where I was going and-" she stopped when she noticed she was practically lying on top of Yui.

"Y-Yui?"

"My, my. So that's why you're not after Keima-kun anymore, huh?" the tomboy said, putting her hand on Ayumi's cheek. "I never thought you swing that way, Ayum-omph!" Yui stopped when Ayumi rewarded her with a kick.

"What the hell are you babbling about?" the runner barked with an angry expression before composing herself and looking around and blinking. And narrowing her eyes.

"What are _all_ of you doing here?" she asked as if she just discovered some nasty conspiracy.

"W-we're not doing anything" Tsukiyo replied while looking away. "Me and Shiori were just going to hang out after-school, while this creep" Tsukiyo pointed her finger at Yui again. "Was following us."

Shiori nodded in agreement.

"Hey! I'm not a creep!" Yui complained.

"And the rest of you?" Ayumi asked.

Kanon and Tenri started to fidget.

"I don't really know why I'm here" Kanon answered. "I couldn't focus at work. All day I had this... hunch that I should be here."

"Huh? You too?" everyone turned to stare at Ayumi and the girl blushed. "Don't look at me like that! I just had this funny feeling since this morning."

"Y-you mean after you woke up from a d-dream?" Shiori dared to ask, but flinched when Ayumi looked at her surprised.

"Uh... yes?" the runner admitted hesitantly.

Tsukiyo widened her eyes. A dream? She turned to look at Yui and was surprised when the tomboy's looked back.

"Uh... Ayukawa-san?" Tenri nodded before Ayumi could even finish her question.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Yui asked.

"I can help you answer that" they were all surprised when Luna left Tsukiyo's arms and floated between the six of them.

"Vulcan!" Tsukiyo said in panic. "We're in public! There are people here!"

"Don't worry about them" the goddess replied. "They'll be gone soon anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kanon asked, obviously panicked as well.

"I'll explain in a moment" Vulcan replied. "That concludes the demonstration!"

Tsukiyo opened her mouth, but before she could utter a word she suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet just cease to exist and she fell down. She didn't close her eyes, yet she could see absolutely nothing. She attempted to scream, but no sound was made. She felt as if the world around her just melted into nothingness. She panicked, hoping to feel the ground under her feet again, but it wasn't her feet that first made contact with something.

It was her backside.

It ended just as quickly as it started – suddenly Tsukiyo could see, hear and feel again. She looked around. She was sitting in a chair. A familiar chair. She was inside her clubroom. A quick glance out of the window proved that it was late afternoon.

Tsukiyo heard some incoherent mumbling to her right and turned only to see Shiori.

"Huh? Why are we here?" Yui's voice sounded from Tsukiyo's left.

"Ugh... where is here?" Ayumi said from the other side of the table.

The table at the center of which Luna was floating directly above the orb – now devoid of any markings.

The orb. Realization hit Tsukiyo – they were talking about Vulcan's solution when this strange thing happened.

"What was that?" Apollo asked from her mirror. "An illusion?"

"It was just a mental projection" Minerva said, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself. "R-right?"

"I doubt it" Mercury chimed in. "Care to explain, my exalted sister?"

"I planned to do so" Vulcan replied, for a moment basking in the undivided attention she was receiving. "In order to understand you must realize how the original orb worked. It had the ability to glimpse and communicate with the possible futures. Even connect to them. Now, from the perspective of the past the future hasn't happened yet, so in that context the Katsuragi that arrived from the future 10 years ago wasn't real."

"Okaaay... what that has to do with this orb?" Mars asked.

"Pretty much everything. This orb has similar function – it allows to project and lock on onto a possible future."

"Who needs a complicated explanation?" Apollo exclaimed. "I have just a simple question: what we experienced was real or not?"

"There is no simple answer" Vulcan replied with narrowed eyes. "It all depends on what you perceive as real."

"I don't get it."

"For example, Takahara-san!" the oldest goddess turned to Ayumi, startling her.

"Y-yes?"

"You remember Katsuragi from the future, right? Was he real to you?"

"O-of course he was!"

"But Vul-neesama just said that he wasn't real" Minerva noticed.

"I see" Diana murmured nodding her head and Mercury did the same.

"See? See what?" Mars asked.

"In short: those two cases are largely equivalent. If you think that the Katsuragi from the future was fake, then what we experienced today was fake as well" Diana explained. "But if you think that Katsuragi back then was real, then that experience today was real too. At least to us."

"Of course it was real!" Apollo said, not paying attention to Vulcan's glare. "We were the ones to send Katsuragi back in time. And we're real!"

"From _our_ perspective" Mercury told her. "From the perspective of our past selves we were nothing more but a shadows of our _possible_ existences."

"Ok, slow down" it was Yui who spoke now. "Let's assume that I get what you're saying. But you were talking about a 'solution'. I still don't get how is _that_ " Yui pointed to the orb. "Supposed to help us" several girls and goddesses nodded at this.

"I'm getting to that" Vulcan replied. "What you saw today was just a demonstration. The real thing will be a little different."

"How exactly?" Diana asked.

"This orb here served to provide merely a few hours, but the real thing can give you a lifetime" Vulcan paused for a moment. "A lifetime with Katsuragi."

After that there was silence.

(* * *)

"Let's see if I got this right" Apollo said after a moment. "You plan to send all of us into a non-existent world to bicker over Katsuragi, is that right?"

"No!" Vulcan replied, visibly losing her patience. "It's not like that!"

"Well, from your explanation it seemed that way, Nee-sama."

"Then let me finish!" Vulcan took a moment to compose herself before continuing. "There's no point in sending all of you at once, so it can be only one girl at a time."

"There's still the part where it's only an illusion" Mars noticed with a disappointed expression.

"I-it didn't look like an illusion to m-me" Shiori spoke in a small voice, surprising everyone. "I-I mean if it's the same as when Katsuragi-kun went back in t-time..."

"That's right!" Vulcan gave the bookworm an appreciative smile. "Think about it that way: Katsuragi is the God of Conquest, the master of love games, right?" the goddess looked at each girl in turns, before smiling a smile that was quite hellish for a goddess. "So how about we turn the tables and play the game where you are the players and Katsuragi is the heroine?"

"Are you _serious_?" Ayumi asked.

"Of course I am" Vulcan replied. "I admit. This is not a perfect solution. Nor it was easy to develop. I had to request quite a few favors from Mercury, Minerva, the reincarnation of Dokurō Skull, what was her name... Nikaidō. And also from the New Hell. But I think the effect is... satisfactory" Vulcan used Luna to make the orb float above the doll's head, so everyone could see. "It's not that simple, but I guess you can think of it as a _very_ realistic dating simulator. But be warned: there'll be only one play through, so if you fail then that's it."

"Of course, we will fail" Kanon said with a saddened expression. "Keima-kun likes Chihiro-san after all."

Every other goddess host except Yui nodded her head in agreement.

"Your solution is hopeless then, nee-sama" Apollo said with a smile, but then blinked when she saw Vulcan smirk back.

"Oh, really? You forget that I'm the oldest of you and I'm not that stupid or naïve. Do you really think I didn't take that into consideration?"

"Umm... you did?" Apollo asked, clearly not believing.

"Yes. Unlike the original orb, which was equipped with the ability to reset time, my orb has a different ability. They will be used in order to make certain... adjustments."

"We're all listening" Yui said.

"The first problem" Vulcan started, now having problems with keeping her voice calm, it was clear that she was dying to talk about this. "Is that several other girls are having feelings for Katsuragi" she paused for a moment. "Maybe more than several... However, I can slightly influence their behavior inside the world of the orb, so other people will not have feelings for Katsuragi by default or won't act on them at the very least. Of course, it will still be possible for them to fall in love with Katsuragi given a proper stimulus... so it's not like this game will be easy to win. Especially, since we're talking about conquering the God of Conquest."

"You're talking about winning and losing" the goddess of war noticed. "And you said our hosts can have a lifetime with Katsuragi. So what exactly counts as winning?"

"It's better to talk about what counts as losing" Vulcan said. "You lose only in two cases. First, you die. In this case the game will end immediately."

"Figures" Diana remarked.

"Second case concerns power supply. The orb will generate the entire world except for Katsuragi and the player girl. Those two will need to enter the world just as you did before" Vulcan pointed at the already used orb. "The problem is that the game is sustained by orb's energy. I can charge it so it will be enough for several weeks, more or less. But after that the orb will need to receive energy from inside. Either from Katsuragi or the player girl."

"And that energy is?" Tsukiyo asked, but she already guessed the answer.

"Love" Vulcan replied simply. "It doesn't matter if both of them experience love or just one of them. In fact it doesn't matter who they love. In short: as long as the hero and heroine together produce enough love then the game will continue."

"For a l-lifetime?" Tenri asked. Tsukiyo almost forgot the girl was even here.

"I think I know what you're asking about" Vulcan said. "I meant the lifetime in the orb. On the outside you'll look as if you were sleeping. Even if you spend 60 years inside the orb then it will amount to less than a day in the real world."

"Have you tested it?" Diana asked, her tone surprisingly harsh. "Nee-sama?" she added quickly.

"Yes. Don't ask how" Vulcan told her.

"Let's get back to Katsuragi for a moment" Mars suggested. "Even if other girls won't go for him, then he will still be going for that Chihiro girl, right?"

"I thought about is as well and employed two protective mechanisms" Vulcan said. "First, other girls will just not have feelings for Katsuragi, but with Kosaka it will go a little further. She will simply deny any advances from Katsuragi. Well... if you _really_ let them be then it's possible for them to fall in love, but other than that it should be fine. Just don't encourage them."

"You mentioned two mechanisms. What's the other one?" Diana asked, her tone now bordering between scolding and interested.

"The first mechanism only prevents Kosaka from accepting Katsuragi, but it doesn't prevent Katsuragi from trying. Well, I think that man wouldn't go for her seriously if not spurred on, but I don't want that risk" she paused for a moment. "Thus, here goes the second mechanism. As you remember, the New Hell was erasing memories of every girl Katsuragi has conquered, right?" Vulcan wore now a devious smirk. "I think it's only fair that Katsuragi gets the same treatment."

"You mean you want to alter _his_ memories?" Ayumi asked in disbelief. On the other hand, this sounded oddly tempting.

"Yes. As long as he will stay in the game his memories of Kosaka will be modified. Also thanks to this he shouldn't realize his mind is in a different world. Of course, as you know, while the memories are altered the actual feelings don't change. So, even in this game, if you leave Kosaka and Katsuragi in a closed room for weeks then they will either kill each other or fall in love with each other."

"War or love? Sounds fun" Mars said with an honest smile.

"P-please w-wait a moment!" Tenri objected. "It's still not fair to m-meddle with Keima-kun's and Chihiro-san's love lives!"

"I agree" Vulcan said. "But there is no meddling. After the game ends Katsuragi's memories will be restored. He will still like Kosaka. And the game will have no effect on the real Kosaka whatsoever. It's not cheating, especially since the two of them are not together right now. It'll be cheating only if _you_ think it's cheating, so you have to decide on your own. But take warning: such a chance will not come a second time. Now is the best opportunity to do it."

"The best opportunity?" Kanon asked. "How come?"

Vulcan sighed, but it was Diana who answered.

"I think I know what nee-sama is talking about" she started. "The past Katsuragi, who lived only for games was completely insensitive jerk. Getting him to fall in love with a real girl, even in this so-called game, would be extremely difficult. On the other hand, if we wait, then Chihiro-san will simply make him fall for her completely, at which point his feelings for her will win even inside the game."

"You mean that right now Katsuragi is vulnerable" Apollo said before correcting herself. "I mean relatively vulnerable to falling in love, while his feelings for that girl are yet to bloom?"

"Yes" Diana replied. "Add to it the fact that Katsuragi is at the moment confused and trying to make _some_ effort in the real world. And since even Apollo gets it, then I think all of us do."

"Hey" the pink-haired goddess exclaimed with an angry expression. "I'm not that stupid!"

"I wonder" Yui laughed and several other girls and goddesses followed her example.

Once the laughter died down a heavy silence started – everyone was considering Vulcan's solution. Tsukiyo was confused. It was so sudden. So strange. Was it really okay to do it like that? She wasn't able to reach a conclusion, but with every second it looked more and more tempting. It wasn't like she would be hurting anyone, right? It wasn't as she would just get it for free. She would have to work for it. And it's not like she didn't deserve a chance. Right?

Kanon's voice brought her out of her musings.

"Let's assume for a moment that it's safe, ethical and it's worth trying" the idol said, all attention focused on her. "Would it mean that everyone of us will get a chance? A... a game?"

"I would need to prepare a new orb each time and you obviously can go only one at a time, but yes. There'll be a game for all of you. But I won't force any of you of course."

"Ummm" Shiori started, shyly touching the tips of her forefingers together, her face the color of a ripe cherry. "When could you prepare the first orb Vulcan-san?"

The goddess looked at the librarian, who sunk deeper into her chair again.

"Actually, I have one prepared already" Vulcan announced before sending Luna to the other part of the room.

"What?! You do?" several voices asked at once.

"I told you before... I originally prepared this solely for Tsukiyo's sake and I wasn't wasting time" the goddess said when the doll returned to the table. And then she put another orb right next to the first one, twelve pairs of eyes focusing on it.

That orb was larger than the first one. It had a lot more markings inside of it and they weren't just dark letters, at least not all the time, because they were pulsing, shinning before darkening again.

"When did you do it?" Diana and Mercury asked at the same time, before looking at each other surprised.

"I finished it today if that's what you're asking about. That's why I organized this meeting" Vulcan replied. "I guess it's just shows how powerful and competent goddess I am."

"Yes, you're the best onee-sama!" Mars shouted.

"I second that!" Yui said.

"Me too!" Minerva added happily.

"What would we do without you, my exalted sister?" Mercury said.

"I was thinking the same thing" Diana said, smiling.

Apollo was just laughing whole-heartedly.

"Thank you" Tsukiyo turned to Vulcan with a smile.

"Ohoho, so you understand the things I had to go through" Vulcan replied, proving she was quite greedy when it came to compliments. "My efforts are appreciated at last!"

"So how does this work?" Yui asked, pointing at the new orb. "You have to chant an incantation as well?"

"No, that was only something I prepared _ad hoc_ for the purpose of the demonstration. The real orb is much easier to use" Vulcan said before grabbing the new orb using Luna's hands. "It is programmed to recognize Katsuragi's touch. All that is needed is for someone to touch it while Katsuragi is touching it as well. Then Katsuragi and that other person will be brought into the game and-"

Whoosh.

All of them blinked when a gust of wind blew past them.

"What was that?" Kanon said while looking around.

"I don't know-huh?" Vulcan mumbled when she looked down at her doll hands. Empty hands.

"W-where's the orb?" Tenri asked.

"Where's Ayumi?" Yui chimed in.

Ten girls and goddesses looked at each other. And sweatdropped.

(* * *)

Ayumi ran like the wind, completely ignoring the burning sensation in her chest.

"Ayumi... you won't... be able... to outrun... a goddess... in flight... you know?" Mercury uttered every time Ayumi was passing some window. "Vulcan-nee-sama will be _sooo_ angry."

"Not now Mel!" the runner responded, but then she felt the familiar sensation of Mercury taking over her body.

"Well... I can't have you think that I'm slower than my sisters, can I?" the goddess said before spreading her wings and launching into the air.

 _Thank you, Mel_ , she heard Ayumi's voice reverberate in her head.

"Don't mention it. It's your power that makes me go this fast anyway."

(* * *)

"Mmm... to make him realize someday! Mmm... a very clueless Romeo!" Eri was singing one of Kanon's best songs, Happy Crescent, while she was taking down the laundry on the balcony of the Katsuragi household. She was practically done when she heard something like a soft flutter. She looked up and saw some object heading straight at her from the sky.

It wasn't a bird. It wasn't a plane.

And it certainly wasn't a firetruck.

Eri took a step back, expecting a crash, but the unidentified flying object slowed at the last moment and landed gently on the balcony, spreading feathers everywhere.

Feathers. It was a goddess.

As if that wasn't enough to confuse Eri the goddess then flashed white and turned back into...

"Ayumi-san?" Eri somehow managed to ask despite being slack-jawed.

"Hey, Eri. Sorry for intruding, but it's important!" Ayumi told her before running past her and inside the house.

She then found herself in a room filled to the brim with shelves holding hundreds if not thousands of games. Ayumi didn't have enough time to feel grossed out, she quickly reached the other door of the room and entered a corridor.

Where was it? That door there? No, that was Eri's room. Ah, there! She approached the door. This had to be where Keima's room was. Unfortunately, she didn't know whether the door opened inwardly or outwardly. Well, no matter...

(* * *)

Keima stopped his gaming and turned his head to listen. He was sure he heard knocking on his door. Was it Eri? Mom? Or maybe dad? And in the middle of his gaming time no less!

"I'm busy right now" he said in a (relatively) polite manner. "Whatever it is, can it wait a little longer?"

In response the person outside the door knocked once again... with enough force that the door fell out of its hinges and dropped to the floor.

Apparently it couldn't wait.

Keima jumped out of his chair and looked at the doorway only to see...

"Ayumi?" he asked in disbelief.

"Oops!" the girl said while scratching her head in a nervous manner. "I didn't intend to kick it _that_ hard" maybe she really was a wild beast. "But I'm in a hurry, so let's make it quick."

"Make what quick?" Keima asked and moved to the right, closer to the window and further from his consoles in an subconscious attempt to reduce the collateral damage.

Neither of them noticed Eri looking at them from the doorway.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you" Ayumi walked closer to Keima. "Or your games."

Normally Keima wouldn't even think for a second about believing her... but this time it was somehow different. Ayumi didn't look angry, not even the "terrifying smile" kind of angry.

"Uh... so to what do I owe this visit?" Keima asked, still refusing to relax and remembering the foreboding that he felt the entire day. This was it. "What did I do this time?"

"Nothing and that's the problem" Ayumi said and continued when she saw his confused expression. "But we'll fix it."

"I don't follow..."

Ayumi would love to explain at least some of the details, but the pursuit was probably close.

"Katsuragi" she started. "You lied to me and tried to manipulate my feelings. You made my parents angry at me and you almost destroyed my friendship with Chihiro. You ruined my first love. And you stole my first kiss."

"Hey, it was _you_ who kissed me _both_ times!" he said in his defense, still wary of her powerful legs. "And I thought you said we were even!"

"Almost" she told him. "We'll be even after you do me a tiny little favor."

"Like what?" he asked, full of bad feelings.

Ayumi showed him the orb. "Touch it."

Keima looked at the object in her hand suspiciously.

"And then?" he asked warily.

"Nothing" she replied. "Just touch it."

Keima looked at the orb once more, obviously noticing that it looked familiar.

"Where did you get a thing like this?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter, does it?"

"Hmpf!" he adjusted his glasses. "I'm not getting into another route like that again. It certainly seems like a death flag."

"Katsuragi" Ayumi told him gently, fully aware of Mercury's warning in the back of her head. "Do you remember the... thing that happened on Akanemaru?"

"A lot of things happened on Akanemaru" Keima reminded her.

"You needed my power, but you refused when I just offered it of my own free will" she paused for a moment. "Yet, I trusted you back then. Now I ask the same of you. To trust me" she locked her eyes with his before asking. "Do you trust me, Keima?"

Maybe it was the way she was looking at him. Maybe it was the gentleness of her voice. Or maybe it was the fact that it was the first time she had addressed him using his given name instead of "Katsuragi" or "otamega".

"Fine" he told her and stepped forward. "But it better be nothing bad or I will make you take responsibility."

"That's my line" Ayumi didn't step back. "You'll be the one taking responsibility here."

"Whatever" he said and reached for the orb.

Eri was watching all this when suddenly something that looked and sounded a lot like a blond version of Yui slammed into her from the side.

"Wait, wait!" Luna followed a second later and entered Keima's room. The very same instant Keima's hand touched the orb.

"Thank you" Ayumi told him, but she couldn't hear if Keima said something in response, because her vision immediately started to blur and she felt like she was floating on air. Going up.

No. She wasn't going up. She was slowly dropping. Sinking. Submerging. Embracing another world.

The world Ayumi only knows.

 **(* * *)**

 **Okay, so here you finally have it – the very essence of this story... I just hope all of you (except ZelgadisGW) are as surprised as I wanted you to be :)  
**

 **Back to the point: Ayumi enters another version of her own reality with the sole purpose of conquering the God of Conquest!**

 ** **However, this also means that this chapter is the _last_ chapter of The World Not Only God Knows and I will soon mark this fanfiction as completed...****

 ** **Buuut...****

 ** **While this fanfiction ends, another one begins and the story continues!****

 ** **Thus, I have the honor to announce to you that the sequel, titled "The World Ayumi Only Knows" is going to follow from this story "immediately" (in an hour or two, I guess)! So please give it a try, even if you don't ship**** ** ** ** **Keima with**** Ayumi.  
****

 ** **This is also the reason why this story didn't have any official pairing, because there was no pairing, just a lot of ship tease ;)  
****

 ** **But the remaining stories _will_ have definite pairings.****

 **Yes, I do mean _stories_ (in plural), because all this so far (20 chapters, some 70 thousand words without author notes) was merely a prolog. A very extensive and quite stand-alone, but a prolog nonetheless... and from this a series of sequels will follow!  
**

 **This series of stories will be a little similar to the series of oneshots Eldest Tempest is publishing for each character... yet different at the same time. I plan for each story to have around 10 chapters and no more than 40k words (otherwise I'll be writing them forever)... maybe except for Ayumi's story, since it's the first one and I planned additional "introduction" for it.  
**

 **Of course, I don't plan to make stories for all KamiNomi characters. Just stories for some girls (and Keima).**

 **The girls that I'm unlikely to write about (in a romantic context with Keima) are: Jun Nagase, Rieko Hinaga, Hinoki Kasuga and Nora Florian Leoria. The main reasons are that they either have little romantic connection to Keima or I can't find a good enough reason to justify their stories (even with all the magic from hell and heaven). From those four Jun is the most likely to have her own story.**

 **And of course I don't plan to make separate stories for side characters (Shalya Frey Amon, Miyako Terada etc.) and for goddesses (maybe with an exception of Diana). But I _do_ plan a story for all other (more or less) important female characters.**

 **This includes characters like Mio, Kusunoki, Tenri, Yui (even if I like her the least) and Chihiro (although she is a special case) among others. But this also includes Haqua, Akari/** **Rimyuel, Urara and Kaori.  
**

 **And Dokurō/Nikaidō. And Eri. I know it would be difficult to make the stories for those two, but I'm (new) hell-bent on doing it.  
**

 **(* * *)**

 **I would also like to thank all of my readers for staying with me all this time and for their support for this story including views, reviews, favorites, follows, constructive criticism and private messages.** **I appreciate all of this and I hope you'll continue to support the sequels...**

 **...and of course you're free to drop me a review for this chapter and this entire story so far. I would really like that, even though I ask you to be gentle with me. :)  
**

 **Special thanks goes to Shawn Raven, x-MidnightReader-x, FrozenDeluxe and Wise. sarachi. I think I don't need to say why.  
**

 **And special thanks among special thanks goes to ZelgadisGW for his comments, support, ideas and beta-reading. Thanks bro!**

 **(* * *)**

 **I also need to review a few stories as I was postponing it lately to get this done.**

 **And one more thing... Since this chapter is special, there is no omake this time, but I plan to continue this tradition in sequels.**

 **(* * *)**

 **I hope I haven't forgotten anything important, because I always have the feeling that I have.**

 **Anyway... see you in The World Ayumi Only Knows!**

 **—Xellos540**


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